Eurosatory 2018: French army performs live demo with latest generation of combat vehicles.

Sunday June 10, 2018,during the Press Day of Eurosatory 2018, the Land and Airland Defence and Security Exhibition, the French Army has performed a live demonstration to showcase latest military equipment in service with combat units.

VBCI with RPGs protection system (Picture source Army Recognition)

New wheeled armoured vehicles in service with the French army include the VAB Ultima, VBCI with new protection against RPGs (Rocket Propelled Grenades), PVP and VBL with remotely operated weapon station.

Today, it’s very important to provide logistic troops with military truck with armored cabin and remote weapon station to increase self-protection. At Eurosatory 2018, the French army has presented new generation of tactical military truck manufactured by the Italian Company IVECO Defence Vehicles.

On 24th January 2014, the Division of General Armaments (DGA) of the French Ministry of Defence placed an order for 250 logistic military trucks with the Iveco (CNH industrial Group) and Soframe (Lohr group) consortium. This batch forms part of the « Porteurs Polyvalents Terrestres » (PPT) programme, launched in 2010 to provide the French land forces with a fleet of modern logistic vehicles.

All of the 200 vehicles ordered in 2010 feature a protected cab with ballistic and mine blast protection. Protected and unprotected cabs can be interchanged and can be mounted on all chassis according to the assessed level of threat.

French army VBL light armored vehiicle upgraded with remotely operated weapon station armed with a 7.62mm (Picture copyright Army Recognition)

In urban combat conditions, modern armored vehicle must be equipped with remotely operated weapon station with fire-control system to increase accuracy of the weapon. Such equipment is also used on modern military vehicles, as it allows a gunner to remain in the relative protection of the vehicle.

CAESAR 155mm wheeled self-propelled howitzer at Eurosatory 2018 live demonstartion of French Army (Picture source Army Recognition)

CAESAR is the current wheeled self-propelled howitzer in service with the French army, it has replaced the old towed howitzer TRF1 offering more mobility and accuracy of fire. This 155mm wheeled self-propelled is fitted with the FAST-Hit computerized fire control system, muzzle velocity radar and navigation system with Global Positioning System. It provides onboard terminals for communication and firing sequence management.

SOUVIM 2 mine path clearing system at Eurosatory 2018 live demonstration (Picture source Army Recognition)

Another interesting product showed by the French Army at Eurosatory 2018 live demonstration is the SOUVIM 2, a mine path clearing system designed and manufactured by MBDA.

The SOUVIM 2 is designed for use in mobility support missions, allowing quick clearing of mined paths over long distances behind the lines: over 100 km of track cleared daily, with extensive counter-mining capabilities.