Panhard vehicles at Eurosatory 2012

Panhard General Defence, leader in the area of light armoured vehicles - under 15 tons, will display the whole range of products, combat vehicles, liaison vehicles and support vehicles, as well as its range of remote-controlled weapon systems.

Panhard vehicles at Eurosatory 2012

Panhard General Defence, leader in the area of light armoured vehicles - under 15 tons, will display the whole range of products, combat vehicles, liaison vehicles and support vehicles, as well as its range of remote-controlled weapon systems.

A couple of new items in the area of combat - the Sphinx and the CRAB - will renew the selections of land forces, as much in the area of employment doctrine as in the area of technology.

Le CRAB, an applicant to the Scorpion VBAE (Commitment support armoured vehicle) program, includes a couple of technologies mastered by Panhard: the survival cell and the integration of a remote-controlled weapon system; it enables to achieve a low-profile and light-weight CRAB, while providing an outstanding protection level for this weight category. It will be possible to airlift a troop of three vehicles in combat configuration in an A400M; and this vehicle has a significant firepower provided by its weapon system.

The SPHINX, an applicant to the Scorpion EBRC (Combat Reconnaissance Armoured Buggy) program, links a concept of highly-mobile armoured platform - thanks to a weight/power ratio higher than 30 hp/t - to a turret fitted with a Lockheed Martin CTA 40 gun. It will dramatically reduce costs thanks to a very attractive LCC (Life Cycle Cost).

The HORNET remote-controlled cupola, developed with Sagem according to an industrial scheme that had been used to develop the WASP, can be fit either with a 12.7-mm machine-gun or a 40-mm grenade-launcher. Its design enables to have a reduced overall height, and it is possible to set numerous optional assets onto a frame which is independent from the mount. The choice of Sagem optronics, and VA (Value Analysis) carried out on the main mechanisms have enabled to decrease the price that is much lower than current prices on the market.

Moreover, Panhard will also display the families of vehicles - coming from the VBL and PVP - that are already well established in the French Army, and also widely disseminated at export.

The two thousand and three hundred VBLs manufactured to date, used in operations under all latitudes have been offered in twenty-five different versions, for a wide array of missions: combat, security, recce, surveillance, and intervention missions, for national defence and homeland security. Panhard keeps selling the VBL in the new Mk2 version, re-engined with a140-hp power train. The VBL Mk2 has already been manufactured for Kuwait.

The PVP, the PVP HD or Gavial Plus, and the PVP XL cover the five-to-twelve-ton vehicles to offer an appropriate price and targeted achievements. With its (Stanag 4569) protection level 2 and a one-ton payload weighs 5.5 tons only. The PVP HD and its seven tons, competes with nine-ton armoured vehicles. The PVP XL (STANAG-level 4 for mine and ballistic protection, and a three-ton payload) competes with fourteen-ton vehicles whereas it only weighs twelve tons.