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2015-04-01

SCORPION GETS MORE STING

Technical innovations changes role of the projectiles

The French Army has secured a long-awaited launch of the €5 billion Scorpion modernization program, with partners Nexter, Renault Trucks Defense (RTD) and Thales winning some €752 million of work to develop two key armored vehicles, defense officials said.

The Scorpion program aims to replace the French army’s armoured vehicles and soldier equipment, and to transform its eight combined arms brigades into 18 networked tactical combat groups.

Scorpion brings together various hitherto-separate programs for the modernization of the Army’s eight combined arms brigades. Each comprising 5,000 to 6 000 men, these brigades are made up of infantry, armor, artillery and engineer regiments. They serve as capability pools from which the Army generates combined arms battle groups for deployment on overseas operations, such as current operations in Afghanistan, and as such constitute the heart of the land forces.

The Scorpion project has the following objectives:
- To renew or upgrade armored fighting vehicles dating from 1970s, 80s and 90s;

- Improve the protection of men and equipment;

-To increase the effectiveness of soldiers and weapons systems with the networking of information systems and combat vehicles .

Modernisation

Scorpion’s design phase lasted until 2012, and the objective is to complete the project’s first phase by 2020. This includes deliveries of nearly 1000 VBMR (Véhicule Blindé Multi-Rôles) multi-role armored vehicle replacing the Vehicles de l’Avant Blindé (VAB) wheeled armored vehicle, (VAB); about 70 new Engin Blindé de Reconnaissance et de Combat (EBRC) armored reconnaissance and combat vehicles to succeed the AMX 10 RC and ERC-90 Sagaie, and the modernization of the Leclerc tanks.

Under the EBMR contract, the Multi-Role Armoured Vehicle Griffon and Reconnaissance and Combat Armoured Vehicle Jaguar will replace respectively on the one hand the VAB, and on the other hand, the AMX10RC, the ERC Sagaie and the VAB Hot, produced in the 1970s and 1980s and used extensively by the French Army in all theaters of operation for 30 years.

The contract covers all phases of an armament program, from development to unit logistical support through the qualification and production of systems. The GME is committed to the integral performance of the equipment in the long term as well as the operational availability of vehicles in service.

The state of the art innovation and know-how developed by the three companies in the GME in the domains of mobility, protection, weapons and digitization will be integrated in the first Scorpion-approved systems. The effect on the ground for future joint tactical groups (GTIA) equipped with Scorpion EBMR systems will be greatly increased with regard to the previous generation.

This program has a structuring effect for Nexter, RTD and Thales as well as for the French industrial sector that will be nourished by the subcontracting orders from the GME. It will create a thousand jobs in its development phase and 1,700 jobs in its production phase. Almost 2,000 vehicles, and all associated logistical support equipment, will be delivered to forces from 2018.

Jaguar

EBRC Jaguar is the more attention worthy of these in terms of its role and firepower. French Army will have a total of 248 Jaguar vehicles when the programme is completed. It is expected that around 110 vehicles to be delivered until 2025, started from 2020.

Jaguar is a 6x6 armored reconnaissance vehicle with a two-men turret. Jaguar has a Combat Weight of 25 tons which is quite significant for a 6x6 vehicle and a crew of 3 of which two located in the turret.

Nexter’s T40 Two Men turret forms the firepower of the Jaguar. T40 turret is armed with 40mm CTA Anglo-French cannon, two MBDA’s MMP medium range anti-tank missiles and a remotely operated 7.62mm. T40 has weight of 4.2 tonnes with Level 4 protection.

The Jaguar platform is a 6x6 wheeled vehicle with a combat weight of 25 tons.

The vehicle is expected to have a protection level of STANAG 4569 Level IV providing a kinetic energy protection of 14.5x114mm Armor Piercing heavy machine gun rounds and a mine protection level that protects against 10kg mine blast under a wheel.

The driver is seated at the front center of the hull. He has a single-piece hatch which is provided with three day periscopes. The driver being in the front center indicated the powerpack might be at the rear of the vehicle.

Lethality

The gunner of the Jaguar EBRC is seated on the right of the turret with the commander on the left. In the near future, the Jaguar EBRC will take up the torch from his predecessors AMX10RC, the ERC Sagaie and the VAB Hot.

In terms of firepower, French will replace the high caliber weapons such as the 90mm and 105mm with the new 40mm CT medium caliber cannon in the reconnaissance role.

Coupled with the 40mm ammunition’s acclaimed high penetration and the capabilities coming from the use of programmable rounds, Jaguar will have a quite good lethality against a large range of targets.

The modern sighting equipment and data communication capability will also have an impact on the performance and success of the reconnaissance missions.

Export prospects and an industrial restructuring of the land weapons sector were tied to the vehicles. Development work will account for almost 1,000 direct jobs, while production will maintain 1,700.

The government invested almost €200 million in feasibility studies and industry, including Safran’s Sagem, worked together since 2010 to prepare for the program’s launch. Top executives of the three companies received the award of the work at Varces.

Nexter will work on the chassis, RTD on the engine and driveline, and Thales on electronics and communications systems.

Securing a key role in the Scorpion program is a boost for Nexter, which is negotiating an alliance with Krauss-Maffei Wegmann under a plan dubbed KANT — KMW And Nexter Together. Development studies will kick off the first stage of the 10-year first phase of Scorpion, Army and DGA officers said. A €5 billion budget has been set for the first phase, which runs to 2025, an Army officer said.

Fully integrated

The program aims to deliver 92 six-wheel heavy VBMRs by 2019, with the first of the four-wheel light VBMRs in 2021. The program outline is set in the 2014-19 defense budget and reflects the white paper on defense and security. Ultimately, the program will allow the French army to generate up to 18 Scorpion Combined Tactical Combat Groups. Fully integrated and digitalized, these groups will be equipped with combat information networks, related digitalization kits, Véhicule Blindés de Combat de l’Infanterie (VBCI) infantry combat vehicles as well as the Félin future soldier program.

Army and DGA planners have set a total target of 2,080 VBMRs, of which 1,722 will be the heavy and 358 light vehicles. An initial batch of 780 heavy, 200 light VBMR units, and 110 EBRC fighting vehicles are in the first phase. The balance of VBMR and EBRC deliveries is scheduled for the second phase.

The heavy VBMR will have a fully laden weight of 24.5 tons, which compares to 27-32 tons of the véhicule avant blindé (VAB), an armored personnel carrier that entered service in 1976. The Army operates a fleet of some 3,900 VABs. The light VBMR will weigh 10 tons and replace the scout cars véhicule blindé leger (VBL) and petit véhicule protegé.

The heavy and light vehicles will carry remote-controlled 12.7mm or 7.62mm machine guns, while the former could fit a grenade launcher. Both vehicles will have modular design, capable of fitting kits. Six versions are planned for the heavy VBMR, including a basic troop carrier, command post, medical and 120mm mortar carrier. The command post vehicle is expected in 2019. That compares to 36 versions of the VAB, built by Nexter and RTD.

EBRC

An EBRC fighting vehicle with fully laden weight of 25 tons will be armed with the 40mm cannon from CTA International (CTAI), a joint venture between BAE Systems and Nexter, an anti-tank MBDA missile moyenne portée (or medium-range missile), and a 7.62mm machine gun. The cannon, which will fire compact cased telescoped shells, will have a range of 1,500 meters, while the missile will reach 3,500 meters.

The French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) notified Nexter Systems of the Leclerc tank renovation contract. This order constitutes the third operation launched by the French Ministry of Defence under the SCORPION programme intended to modernise the French Army’s contact forces. Valued at approximately €330 million, the contract provides for the delivery of 200 “Renovated Leclerc” tanks and 18 “Renovated DCL” recovery vehicles from 2020.

The planned renovation work will enable the Leclerc to make the best use of its fire power and mobility within future Scorpion joint tactical groups (GTIA). Thanks to the development of specific interfaces for the new CONTACT tactical radio system and the SCORPION information and command system (SICS), it will be able to effectively network with all components of future Scorpion GTIAs.

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