Canada's top military commander says that the army is running through equipment faster than it can maintain it.

Gen. Walter Natynczyk, chief of defence staff of the Canadian Forces, said that army vehicles are breaking down at a high rate due to the amount of action they are seeing in Afghanistan.

"It's an army that's undergoing an incredible operational tempo right now," he told CTV's Power Play Tuesday.

"We've added a lot more heavy armour to vehicles and that's put an additional strain on them and that's why some of them are breaking down at an accelerated rate."

Natynczyk 's comments come just one day after the head of Canada's army, Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie, said the military may need a year-long break from operations when the mission in Afghanistan ends in July 2011.

"In the mid-term, and beginning in July 2011, we will have to explore the possibility of taking a short operational break, that is well-organized and synchronized, of at least one year," he said.

Leslie, appearing before the Senate defence committee, said a break may be needed because the military is facing personnel and equipment shortages.

Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon promised Tuesday the government "will take care" of upgrading and fixing badly needed military equipment.

There are reportedly 40 Leopard 2 battle tanks in Montreal and another 40 in Europe that are yet to be outfitted with heavy armour to fight off roadside bomb attacks in Afghanistan.

Leslie said the tanks have been in storage since last November and won't be finished until the federal government hires a firm to do the job.

Natynczyk said the military was in the process of finding domestic firms to work on their Leopard tanks, which are German-made.

He added that the process would include "other government departments" in addition to National Defence.

Cannon said the money would come out of the Defence budget.

"Of course the military will take care of that situation," Cannon told CTV's Canada AM on Tuesday.

"Defence budgets are there to be able to take care of it."

Cannon said the government doesn't "put our people into the theatre to go out there in equipment that is not completely up to sniff."

Defence Minister Peter MacKay said Monday that Ottawa is working to get the tanks into action as fast as possible.

"Those Leopard tanks are lifesavers," he said. "They are game changers and we want to get those tanks where they can be used to save lives and to further the aims of the mission."

Leslie also told the committee that only 30 per cent of equipment used on military bases in Canada is in service at any time.

He said many vehicles aren't being fixed because there aren't enough skilled mechanics and technicians to do the job.

The lack of equipment means fewer are available to train soldiers before they head off to Afghanistan, Leslie said.

According to a February tally, Leslie said 33 per cent of light-armoured vehicles (LAVs) are out of service, 76 per cent of Coyotes, 100 per cent of its tracked light-armoured vehicles (TLAVs), 73 per cent of its Bisons and 71 per cent of its Leopard tanks.

"This situation is extremely serious because the number and types of equipment that have to be repaired and replaced continues to increase at a rapid pace, and their use is much greater than planned when they were originally purchased," Leslie said.

He said Ottawa needs to get rid of the red tape and ensure that broken equipment gets fixed.

Last year, Parliament agreed to extend Canada's military role in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2011.

With files from The Canadian Press