Belgium and France Establish CaMo Land Mobility Partnership
On 25 October the Belgian government approved the signing of an intergovernmental agreement with France covering the establishment of a strategic land mobility partnership under the CaMo programme.
Belgium is modernising the motorised portion of its Land Component with the acquisition of 382 VBMR GRIFFON and 60 EBRC JAGUAR armoured vehicles, both of which will be manufactured by Nexter. These enhanced network-centric vehicles will be identical to those of France, which maximises cooperation and allows interoperability that may lead to integration between the two armed forces. This acquisition is a strategic step in cooperation between the Belgian Land Component and the French Army, and marks a milestone in building the ‘Europe of Defence.’
Nexter has already provided the Belgian Land Component with the 105mm 105LG1 light gun. To respond to the CaMo programme, the Group will rely its industrial know-how, its mastery of complex systems such as the LECLERC tank, VBCI armoured vehicle and the CAESAR artillery system, and its central role in French SCORPION Armoured Multi-Role Vehicle (EBMR) programme, alongside its French industrial partners, primarily Arquus and Thales, grouped together in a temporary business venture. In parallel, Nexter has signed partnership agreements with several Belgian companies. It is in this context that the final assembly of the VBMR-GRIFFON will be done by CMI Defense in Belgium and that the turret of the Belgian vehicle will be produced by FN Herstal. MECAR, Nexter’s Belgian subsidiary, will be responsible for producing part of the ammunition.
Nexter “welcomes the cooperation between Belgium and France, and between the two Ministries of Defence. The Belgian Directorate General of Materiel Resources (DGMR) and the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) have set up a joint office to conduct the CaMo acquisition programme. I thank the two defence ministries for their trust. It is a great honour to be at the side of the Belgian Land Component with the supply of its next combat equipment, and [to be] participating in this important new step in the construction of the ‘Europe of Defence,” commented the Group’s Chairman and CEO, Stéphane Mayer.
