French Army details vehicle deliveries and upgrade plans

The front view of the Griffon MMP version. (Janes/ Amael Kotlarski)

The French Ministère des Armées (Ministry of Defence) has given more details concerning recent deliveries of equipment, as well as planned upgrades for some of its legacy vehicle fleet.

During a briefing, ministry officials confirmed that 34,100 HK416F rifles had been delivered to the French Armed Forces, with a total of 93,080 planned for delivery by the end of 2028. Deliveries of the Glock 17 Gen 5 FR self-loading pistol and the SCAR-H PR self-loading precision rifle commenced in late 2020; however, the total number delivered so far for both these weapons was not disclosed. The ministry also confirmed that more than 1,800 new Onyx night-vision goggles had been delivered.

Earlier in 2022, 200 VT4 light tactical vehicles were delivered, with a total of 1,200 vehicles expected by the end of the year. Also known as the Véhicule Léger de Tactique Polyvalent – Non Protégé (VLTP-NP, Light Multi-purpose Tactic – Non-Protected), the VT4 is set to replace a number of light, non-protected 4x4 vehicles. A total of 4,380 VT4s are scheduled to be delivered across the armed forces by the end of 2025, with 3,980 earmarked for the army alone. More than 3,000 VT4s were delivered in 2021.