The military aid announced by Emmanuel Macron, Wednesday January 4, relates to the delivery of AMX-10 RC to the forces of kyiv, materials intended for the recognition and support of the infantry troops.
by Cédric Pietéturunga
French military aid in Ukraine is a speed. Emmanuel Macron announced, Wednesday, January 4, the next delivery of “light tanks” AMX-10 RC to kyiv troops on Wednesday 4 January. Their number has not been specified but they will be levied from the endowment of the French army, which holds 248 copies of this vehicle intended for the recognition and support of the infantry troops.
“Until the victory, until the return of peace to Europe, our support for Ukraine will not weaken”, pleaded the head of state, in a message published on Twitter after a telephone interview with His Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky.
Designed in the 1970s, manufactured by the Nexter company, the AMX-10 RC is not strictly speaking a chariot: it is mounted on wheels and not on tracks, and its armor has nothing to See with that of a Leclerc, the heavy tank that equips the French army. But its 105 mm cannon is formidable in close combat and its mobility gives it an advantage over more massive equipment.
“It is a very good vehicle all paths, the perfect childcare dog to accompany troop transport armored vehicles and support infantry on the ground,” explains Marc Chassillan, engineer and specialist in terrestrial military equipment. Since the mid-1980s, France has hired AMX-10 RC in Chad, Iraq, Kosovo or Mali, where it was described as “desert rolls” by the French soldiers.
“An armored vehicle intended for close combat”
This type of vehicle has been claimed for months by Ukraine, which lacks armored vehicles to resist Russian troops but above all to accompany its future offensives. So far, the Western allies of kyiv have refused to provide him with tank, even light, for fear of climbing with Moscow.
“From a political point of view, this announcement is a marker. France will be the first to deliver what the military calls a melee machine, that is to say a armored vehicle intended for close combat” , estimates Mr. Chassillan. The United States is considering sending Bradley to Ukraine, an infantry combat vehicle that is close to AMX-10 RC, but they have not yet announced it.
According to the Ministry of the Armed Forces, this shipment will not weaken French troops, unlike the eighteen Caesar cannons delivered to Ukraine, whose absence reduces training capacities.
The AMX-10 RC in Endation in the Army have indeed started to be replaced by a more modern vehicle, the Jaguar, of which 300 copies must enter service by 2030. The only question relates to The ammunition which will be delivered to Ukraine with the AMX-10 RC: the 105 mm shells drawn by the armored vehicle are not standard and France is the only one to hold it. “We must be careful not to endanger our operational availability since it is planned to use our AMX-10 RC until 2030”, points out Marc Chassillan.
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