French Army testing VBMR-L Serval armored vehicle in desert conditions in Djibouti.

Last July, the Technical Section of the French Army (STAT) took possession of two VBMR Légers Serval armored vehicles to submit them to technical-operational evaluations (EVTO) in a desert environment. Remember that the VBMR-L (VBMR Léger) is part of the SCORPION program in which the Serval complements the VBMR Griffon, the EBRC Jaguar and the Leclerc Rénové (Leclerc XLR) main battle tank.
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In Djibouti, the evaluation of the VBMR-L Serval had to focus mainly on the behavior of its electronic systems in a very hot climate (Picture source: French Army)

The Serval is a 4x4 armored vehicle that has a weight of 15 to 17 tons depending on the version. The vehicle is fitted with equipment common to all Scorpion vehicles including a remotely controlled weapon station. As Laurent Lagneau reports in Opex360, under the aegis of the Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA), the Serval has already been tested in various operational conditions: evolution on all types of terrain, accelerated aging of its components, mine protection, loading on board an Airbus A400M Atlas, etc.

French Army’s STAT carried out the Serval’s EVTO in hot weather between August 21 and September 22 in Djibouti, with the assistance of the 5e Régiment Interarmes d’Outre-Mer (5RIAOM, 5th Overseas Combined Arms Regiment) which will be equipped with this vehicle from 2025. The army did not comment on the results of this assessment, reports Laurent Lagneau, except by mentioning that the firing tests carried out south of Djibouti-city confirmed the Serval's ability to meet the challenge of high-intensity combat, keeping in mind that this vehicle only has an RWS armed with a 7.62 or 12.7mm machine gun.

This EVTO had to focus mainly on the behavior of the Serval's electronic systems in a very hot climate. The VBMR-L is ultra-connected, thanks to its integrated Scorpion combat information system (SIC-S, Système d’information du combat Scorpion, Combat Information System - Scorpion). The SIC-S allows to digitally share all the tactical information available on the battlefield to all vehicles of the French army, and in particular the positions of the units thanks to the location of friends via “blue force tracking”. Let us mention that, equipped with the same systems, the VMBR Griffon had successfully passed the same type of evaluation before being deployed in Mali as part of Operation Barkhane, recalls Laurent Lagneau.

Let us recall that 364 Servals were ordered by the DGA at the end of 2020 to the French companies Nexter and Texelis. A total of 978 Servals are to be delivered to the French Army under the Scorpion program and the first batch of 70 Serval vehicles should be delivered in 2022, primarily for the rapid reaction force. While it can be declined in 29 different configurations, the Serval will be used as an Armored Patrol Vehicle (APB), Tactical Communication Node (NCT) as well as for surveillance, intelligence, reconnaissance and electronic warfare missions, Laurent Lagneau summarizes.

French Army’s STAT used two Servals to carry out the EVTO in hot weather between August 21 and September 22 in Djibouti, with the assistance of the 5e Régiment Interarmes d’Outre-Mer (5RIAOM, 5th Overseas Combined Arms Regiment) (Picture source: DGA)