Evolution The next evolution in French wheeled armour was the Panhard Auto Mitrailleuse Légère (AML), initially designed as a private venture, but later selected by the French Army to meet a light armour operational requirement. The French Army would acquire some 900 AML, with 3,100 vehicles being acquired by export customers in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and South America. Multiple variants were developed, including turrets with 60mm breech-loading mortars, 20mm cannon, 12.7mm machineguns, an anti-aircraft variant with twin 20mm cannon and the AML-90 variant, sporting a 90 mm low-pressure gun. An APC version of the AML, known as the M3, entered production in the early 1970s, and remained in production until 1986, with more than 1,100 vehicles built. Variants included the standard APC, an air defence vehicle, engineer and ambulance versions, a command vehicle, and an anti-tank system with HOT missiles. Both the AML and the M3 remain in service around the world. Turning to current in-service systems, we can see a continuation of the wheeled armour requirements generated post-1945. The AMX-10RC was developed in the 1970s, and entered service with the French Army in the early 1980s, this was a 6x6 15t-class vehicle, with a turret mounting a 105mm F2 L/47 medium-pressure gun. Th French Army ordered 256 vehicles, Morocco 108 and Qatar 12. The French Army AMX-10RC fleet was consistently upgraded throughout its service life, with the most significant upgrade being conducted by Nexter, with 256 AMX-10RC vehicles being upgraded to the AMX-10RCR configuration. The first upgraded vehicles were delivered to the French Army 2005, and the programme was completed in 2010. The AMX-10RC only had one drawback: it was too heavy to meet French Army rapid deployment requirements, for contingencies in Africa, for example. Something lighter was required and this led to the adoption The French Army has always been a believer in the utility of wheeled armoured vehicles, perhaps more so than many other European armies. This goes back many years to a decision that wheeled armour was the ideal system for the reconnaissance mission, providing the necessary capability without the cost and logistic burden of tracked vehicles. Now, the French Army is introducing a whole new generation of wheeled armoured vehicles into service, under the auspices of the Scorpion programme. The French fascination with wheeled armour, and the industrial base to design and build it, goes back to the 1930s and a requirement known as the Automitrailleuse de Découverte (AMD), an armoured reconnaissance vehicle requirement won by the Panhard 178. The last French unit to have the Panhard 178B, which was based in Djibouti, retired its vehicles in 1960! Another French requirement from that era led Panhard to design the AM40P, a well armoured 8x8 vehicle. One prototype was built and it was so impressive that an order was placed for 600 vehicles in May 1940. None were ever built, however – the Battle of France intervened less than ten days later. The prototype was evacuated to French North Africa, subsequently disappearing in Morocco, never to be seen again. Post-1945, the French Army generated a requirement for a heavy wheeled reconnaissance vehicle with increased firepower, with the Panhard Engin Blindé de Reconnaissance (EBR) proposal being selected. It shared some characteristics with the earlier AM40P design, such as the 8x8 configuration and an oscillating turret – a popular solution for French armour of this era. However, the EBR was a heavier vehicle and was fitted with a 75mm rifled gun, later replaced with a 90mm low-pressure gun in an upgrade programme. An APC version was also developed, the EBRETT, but this was not adopted by the French Army, with the only customer being Portugal. David Saw Scorpion – A Transformational Programme for the French Army 56 · MT 3/2022 Nations in Focus
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