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Background – Close Combat Vehicle – Nexter / Renault VBCI 25 IFV |
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Update – 18 Jan 2012:
in correspondence with David Pugliese, Nexter confirmed that
"Bombardier is [their] integrator/ assembler, Prevost will produce the driveline for the vehicle and Raytheon
Canada will provide the life cycle support" – as we reported on our VBCI 30 page.
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CCV on Wheels – Maple Leafs on the French Nexter Véhicules Blindés de Combat
d'Infanterie / Véhicule de Combat d'Infanterie?
The Nexter VBCI 8x8 was the first wheeled submission for the CCV Project. The 8x8 VBCI series replace
tracked vehicles in French service and Nexter argued successfully that CCV should also include wheeled
candidates. VBCI is essentially a French government project – the state owns Nexter (once Giat ) [1] while
VBCI running-gear provider, Renault Trucks, is part state-owned. The latter is majority owned
by Volvo (explaining the choice of powerplant ). Nexter's CCV submission is based on the French Army's VBCI
VCI (Véhicule de Combat d'Infanterie), the turreted IFV.
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Medium Calibre: Back to CCV Main Armament Decisions
The first Nexter CCV entrant, the VCBI 25, is armed just like the French Army's VBCI VCI. The Tarask
turret or Tourelle Modulaire Compacte 25 mm, was specifically designed for VBCI VCI but springs from an
earlier Giat Dragar turret and it's armed with the same 25mm M811 gun. But the CF is now used to two-man
turrets and a 25mm main armament offers no advance in firepower over the current LAV III gun. [2] As we had
predicted, Nexter will also submit a VBCI 30 armed with
the Italian two-man Hitfist turret.
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VBCI has a boxy, flat-bottomed hull form – surprising in these IED-conscious times but
not unique among CCV candidates. The VBCI's hull is distinct from other CCV entrants in its all
welded-aluminum construction. To improve VBCI ballistic and IED protection, steel or titanium panels are
bolted on top of the aluminum hull armour (rather like the CF's TLAV ). The result is a 28t 8x8 vehicle meant to be a tractable as any tracked IFV.
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The French have ordered over 600 VBCIs and their IFV version is now in Afghanistan. Any points the CCV Project
may assign to combat experience with major NATO allies, can be assumed for the VBCIs with Brigade La
Fayette at Bagram. The deployed VBCI give some hints at future CCV appearance if the VBCI IFV should be
chosen. Afghan VBCI/VCI now sport mesh screens as protection from rocket- propelled grenades along with the add-on
armour.
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The VBCI has seen heavier RPG cages, such as on the P-6 submitted unsuccessfully for the Swedish APC contest.[3]
Spain's VBR contest was the first foreign competition for a turreted VBCI. There, as with other VBCI bids,
Nexter has a local partner. Nexter was slow to announce partners for the CCV project. [4] Assembly will be by
Bombardier, engines and transmissions by Volvo-owned Prévost, and support by Raytheon
Canada. The rest will come. The real question here is whether DND really wants a wheeled type for
CCV.
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Nexter 'VBCI 25' ( VBCI VCI )
CCV Candidate Specifications
| Crew: |
2 x crew plus 9 dismounts (VCI), plus 4 (VPC) |
Armament:
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1 x TMC-25 1-man turret armed with Nexter
(Giat)
25mm M811 (169 rds) + coaxial 7.62mm (200 rds)
(for 30mm
Hitfist 2-man turret, see VBCI 30 page) |
| Size: |
Length 7.6m, width 2.98m, height 2.25m
(varies) |
| Weight: |
Empty: under 18 tonnes, combat: 28 tonnes
[5] |
Powerplant:
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405 kW (550hp) 12 litre 6-cyl. Volvo-Renault D12
turbo-diesel with ZF 7HP 902 (7+2 speeds) auto. |
| Performance: |
Speed: 100km/h (paved road), max range: 750
km |
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[1] Giat became Nexter in 2006. Although still a French state-owned enterprise, Nexter moved into the black through
increased exports. By contrast, Renault Véhicules Industriels became a Volvo subsidiary, Renault Trucks
Defense. In the early 1990s, Giat and RVI were in direct competition with Vextra and H8A wheeled vehicles.
Neither type sold so the two firms decided to combine resources to design the VBCI.
[2] Both M242 and M811 are externally-powered auto cannons. Being introduced a few years earlier gave
the US M242 a marketing edge. Aside from the M811 main armamanet (and a coaxial 7.62mm FN MAG 58), the VBCI VCI's
Tarask turret features Catherine-QW IR sights by Thales Optronique, MOP (Moyen d'Observation
Panoramique) sights, Sagem's SITEL tactical systems, and Galix grenade launchers.
[3] The VBCI P-6 APC for Sweden lost out to a Finnish Patria AMV. Coincidentally, VBCI 30 has the same turret as
another AMV variant, the Polish-licenced Rosomak. Nexter also bid on the British FRES-UV competition won by
GDELS with the Piranha 5
(but later cancelled).
[4] On 12 Jan 2012, David Pugliese posted a brief article, Nexter Looking to Bring Together Canadian Suppliers as Part of its Close
Combat Vehicle Project Bid, on Defence Watch. Obviously the hunt for domestic partners
goes on but, presumably, at the smaller end of the scale.
[5] It is not clear whether that quoted 28 tonne combat weight includes steel or titanium panels. It certainly
doesn't include the RPG cages. 28 t puts the VBCI VCI's empty weight around the same as a loaded LAV III. In both vehicle types,
applique armour adds weight without contributing anything to structural strength. Compared with a LAV III, the VBCI
gains 2-3 additional dismounts and 100 km in extra range.
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