France kicks-off Scorpion vehicle programmes

[ابوقحط]

French Army Griffon (left) and Jaguar (right) armoured vehicle concept images. Source: Nexter/Renault/Thales
France has signed a EUR752 million (USD929 million) contract for a new generation of armoured wheeled combat vehicles, providing a boost to its major Scorpion army modernisation programme.

This contract covers the development and acquisition (as well as maintenance and training tools) of the two main vehicles of the programme: the 6x6 Véhicule Blindé MultiRole (VBMR) and the 6x6 Engin Blindé de Reconnaissance et de Combat (EBRC).

It was also announced that the VBMR will now be known as Griffon, with the EBRC to be called Jaguar.

The contract was announced on 5 December by French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian at the Varces military base. Both vehicles will be developed and manufactured by a project consortium created in January comprising Nexter Systems, and Renault Trucks Défense (RTD), Thales Communication and Security. The total cost of the Scorpion programme is estimated at EUR5 billion over the next 10 years.

The contract was signed by Laurent Collet-Billon, head of the French defence procurement agency (the DGA), and by the CEOs of the firms involved in the development and the fabrication of these vehicles: Philippe Burtin for Nexter, Stefano Chmielewski for Renault Trucks Defence (RTD) and Philippe Logak for Thales.

The 6x6 Griffon will replace the VAB light armoured transport vehicle. A highly successful but 40-year-old 4x4, the VAB has been heavily involved in every single French operation since the late 1970s. The Griffon will offer twice the internal volume of the VAB, will be powered by an 8-litre 400hp Volvo/RTD engine, and will have an estimated combat weight of 22 tons - with provision to increase this to 25 tons. The vehicle will be armed with a remote weapon station (RWS) equipped with a 7.62 mm or 12.7 mm machine gun, or 40 mm grenade launcher.

The Griffon will be delivered in six main variants: troop carrier (up to eight soldiers and a crew of two); artillery observation (with a Thales payload including a day/night sight with a laser designator mounted on a telescopic mast and coupled to a GO12 radar); command post; medevac; cargo; and repair vehicle.

The troop carrier variant will come in four sub-variants: troop carrier; anti-tank team carrier; mortar team; and engineer team.

Meanwhile, the 6x6 Jaguar reconnaissance vehicle will replace a wide range of wheeled combat armoured vehicles, including the AMX 10RC and ERC90 Sagaie 6x6 reconnaissance vehicles and the Hot anti-tank missile-equipped VAB 'Mephisto'.

The Jaguar will be armed with a two-man turret equipped with a 40 mm cased telescoped cannon and ammunition (CTCA), two ready-to-fire MBDA MMP anti-tank missiles, and a RWS armed with a 7.62 mm machine gun. The Jaguar will be equipped with a Volvo/RTD 11l 490 hp engine. Fully operational weight is set at 22.5 tons but could be increased to 24 tons. The Jaguar design also currently benefits from almost 1.5m 3 of unused internal volume to accommodate future developments. Price is estimated between EUR7 million and EUR8 million.

Scorpion encompasses the complete renewal of the medium-weight armoured combat vehicle fleet for the French army, some retrofit of existing systems, and the development of a unique and standardised digitalised network. The 5 December contract follows 10 years and EUR200 million spent on preliminary studies (such as the Phoenix future land systems, Bulle Opérationnelle Aéroterrestre [BOA] network-centric warfare, and BMX vehicle technology demonstrators).

A 10-ton 4x4 Griffon Light armed with a RWS is also planned, while Scorpion Phase 1 also calls for a retrofit of the Leclerc main battle tank (MBT). Up to 200 modernised Leclercs will remain in service until 2040. Current plans call for a total production of 1,722 VBMRs, 358 VBMR Lights, and 248 EBRCs. A first batch of 92 VBMRs will be financed through for the current Loi de Programmation Militaire (LPM), which runs from 2014 to 2019. The entry-into-service date is set for 2018.

Nexter is leading the project consortium and is responsible for the development and manufacture of the vehicles, including the chassis and body shell, ballistic protection, interior design, and the turret for the Jaguar. RTD will develop the mobility solutions (engine, drivetrain, suspension, steering system, etc) for both vehicles. Thales is in charge of all the vetronics subsystems (information network, radios, laser warning system, missile launch warning system, radio, and infrared jammers etc).

In order to drive commonality, both the Griffon and Jaguar will feature front and rear axle steering, share the same vetronics subsystem, and possibly the same chassis. Both vehicles will also be optimised for onboard simulation training.

The first vehicle to enter production will be the Griffon in late 2018. It is estimated that by mid-2019, Nexter's plant in Roanne will be able to deliver 9-10 vehicles per month. Manufacturing will be very similar to that of the VBCI, with the body shell made of welded aluminium plates.

The Jaguar will enter production in 2020 with a much lower rate of two per month. The Griffon Light is expected to appear in 2021. The French army expects to be ready to deploy a first Griffon-equipped Groupement Tactique Inter Armes (GTIA) in 2021, with AMX 10RC still providing fire support. This same GTIA will then have its AMX 10RCs replaced with the Jaguar in 2023.

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