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France announces delivery to Ukraine of AMX-10RC anti-tank armored vehicles within 2 months.
According to a statement published by the French Ministry on January 13, 2023, the French Ministry of Defense Sébastien Lecornu agreed on the delivery of the first anti-tank armored vehicles AMX-10RC to the Ukrainian army that would take place within two months.
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French Army AMX-10RC 6x6 reconnaissance anti-tank armored vehicle. (Picture source Army Recognition)
On January 5, 2023, the French President confirmed the delivery to Ukraine of French-made AMX-10RC, a 6x6 combat vehicle that has anti-tank capabilities. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, France has already delivered state-of-the-art artillery, armored personnel carriers, anti-aircraft missiles, and air defence systems to Ukraine.
On Thursday, January 12, 2023, during a phone call, the French Ministry of Defense Sébastien Lecornu and his Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksii Reznikov, planned the agenda for the delivery of the first AMX 10-RC reconnaissance anti-tank armored vehicle.
France has not yet specified the number of AMX-10RC that will be delivered to Ukraine, but according to an unofficial source, a first batch of 10 vehicles could be sent to Ukraine within two months. In fact, France launched a modernization program to replace its AMX-10RC/RCR with the new Jaguar, a 6x6 reconnaissance and combat armored vehicle.
The delivery of the AMX-10RCs to Ukraine will depend on the pace of delivery of the new Jaguar to the French army and the training of Ukrainian soldiers.
The AMX-10RC is a French-made 6x6 armored reconnaissance anti-tank armored vehicle. It was first introduced into service with the French army in the 1980s and is still in service with the French army.
The AMX-10RC is fitted with a three-man turret armed with a Giat Industries 105 mm F2 semi-automatic gun with a vertical wedge breech block and a barrel with a thermal jacket and a two-stage muzzle brake. The gun fires four types of Giat Industries fixed ammunition, APFSDS (Armor-Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot), HEAT (High-Explosive Anti-tank), HE (High Explosive), and smoke. The APFSDS round uses the penetrator of the 90 mm Giat Industries APFSDS round and has a muzzle velocity of 1,400 m/s. This will penetrate a NATO triple heavy tank target at a range of 2,000 m. The new APFSDS round weighs 13.1 kg complete, the projectile weighing 3.8 kg. The vehicle carries a total of 38 105mm rounds including 12 rounds ready-to-use in the turret.
The AMX-10RCs were upgraded to the standard AMX-10RCR that were delivered to the French army between 2005 to 2010. The AMX-10RC upgrade is being carried out in the three traditional key areas of armor, mobility, and firepower, plus digitization.