Véhicule Blindé Léger

Véhicule Blindé Léger (VBL)
	Véhicule Blindé Léger (VBL) at a military parade
General properties
crew	2 (commander, driver) - 3 (commander, driver, gunner)
length	3.80 m or 4.00 m (extended version)
width	2.02 m
height	1.70 m
Dimensions	3.5-4.0 tons
	Armor and armament
Armor	Protection against 7.62 × 51 mm NATO projectiles and shrapnel
Main armament	1 × 7.62mm machine gun
Secondary armament	a MILAN rocket launcher with 6 missiles.
agility
drive	Peugeot XD3T turbodiesel with 70 kW (95 PS ) or Steyr Motors M14 monoblock turbodiesel with 95 kW (130 PS ) Peugeot DW10FC (132kw 178PS);
suspension	feathers
Top speed	Max. 95 km / h on the road and 5.4 km / h in the water
Power / weight	24 hp / ton
Range	600 km

The Véhicule Blindé Léger (VBL, light armored vehicle) is a lightly armored, amphibious military vehicle , which is mainly used to explore difficult terrain. It was developed by the French manufacturer " Société de Constructions Mécaniques Panhard et Levassor " in the late 1980s to serve as a reconnaissance vehicle for the French army .

Equipment / armament

There are two basic versions of the VBL: on the one hand the reconnaissance vehicle with a crew of two and a 7.62 mm machine gun , and on the other hand the anti-tank vehicle with a crew of three, a 7.62 mm machine gun and a 12.7 mm machine gun. During an amphibious mission, the VBL is accelerated to up to 4.5 km / h by a rear propeller. On land, the vehicle reaches a top speed of 95 km / h. The VBL also has an NBC protection system and passive night vision technology.

Panhard has now manufactured over 1300 vehicles, mainly for the French armed forces, but the VBL is also used by many other armies. There are now many modified versions of the VBL, including grenade launchers or missile systems .

In 1989, a version of the Véhicule Blindé Léger improved by the MaK - Krupp company was purchased by the German Armed Forces in order to carry out comparison tests with the Zobel experimental vehicle . The aim of this test was to find a suitable reconnaissance vehicle for the troops. From this test, the much larger and heavier Zobel reconnaissance vehicle emerged as the winner.

Existing versions:

Éclairage (reconnaissance): Equipped with 1 machine gun 7.62 mm - optical and night vision devices, ABC detection kit;
VBL Milan: Equipped with six MILAN anti-tank missiles ;
VBL Eryx: Equipped with four Eryx anti-tank missiles ;
VBL AT4CS:;
VBL PC (long wheelbase): command vehicle with 2 VHF and one HF / BLU radio;
VBL RECO 12.7: equipped with a remote-controlled machine gun 12.7 mm Browning M2 ;
VBL RECO lance-grenades: equipped with a 40 mm grenade launcher;