Modern equipment of the French Army

French Army
Components
Army Light Aviation
Armoured Cavalry
Troupes de marine
French Foreign Legion
Chasseurs alpins
List of current regiments
Structure of the French Army
Administration
Chief of Staff of the French Army
Equipment
Modern Equipment
History
Military history of France
Personnel
List of senior officers of the French Army
Ranks in the French Army
Awards
Croix de guerre
Médaille militaire
Légion d'honneur
Awards

Modern equipment of the French Army is a list of equipment currently in service with the French Army. Figures are provided by the French Ministry of Defense for July 1, 2017.[1]

Infantry equipment

Pistols

Name Origin Type Cartridge Photo Notes
MAC 50  France Semi-automatic pistol 9 mm In service since 1953. Being replaced.
PAMAS G1  France
 Italy		 Semi-automatic pistol 9 mm Entered into operational service in 1989 with the national gendarmerie, in 1992 with the Air Force, and in 1999 for the Army and Navy. 97,502 weapons in 2002.[2]
Glock 17  Austria Semi-automatic pistol 9 mm
HK USP.SD  Germany Semi-automatic pistol 9 mm Used by French Army's special forces.

Submachine Guns

Name Origin Type Cartridge Photo Notes
HK MP5 A5
HK MP5 SD3		  Germany Submachine gun 9mm Used by French Army's special forces.
FN P90  Belgium Submachine gun 5.7x28mm Used by French Army's special forces.

Assault, battle rifles

Name Origin Type Cartridge Photo Notes
FAMAS F1  France Assault rifle 5.56mm The FAMAS remains the standard-issue service rifle of the French military, with over 700,000 in total delivered. Scheduled to be phased out of service in the mid 2020s.
HK416 A5
HK416 D14.5RS
HK416 F		  Germany Assault rifle 5.56mm The HK416F will replace the FAMAS as the standard-issue assault rifle beginning in 2017. 102,000 weapons have been ordered.
FN SCAR-L  Belgium Assault rifle 5.56mm Used by French Army's special forces.
M16 A2 M203
M16 723 M203		  United States Assault rifle 5.56mm Used by French Army's special forces.

Shotguns

Name Origin Type Cartridge Photo Notes
Benelli M3T Super 90  Italy Semi-automatic shotgun 12-Gauge Used by French army's special forces.
Mossberg 500  United States Pump-action shotgun 12-Gauge Used by French army's special forces and units in French Guiana.

Sniper and Anti-materiel rifles

Name Origin Type Cartridge Photo Notes
FR-F2  France Sniper rifle 7.62 mm In service since 1986.
PGM Ultima Ratio  France Sniper rifle 7.62 mm
HK MSG90  Germany Sniper rifle 7.62 mm
HK 417  Germany Sniper rifle 7.62 mm
PGM Hécate II  France Anti-materiel rifle 12.7 mm

Machine Guns

Name Origin Type Cartridge Photo Notes
FN Minimi  Belgium Light machine gun 5.56mm 10.881 ordered in 2011
ANF1  France General purpose machine gun 7.62 mm
FN MAG  Belgium General purpose machine gun 7.62 mm
M2 Browning  United States Heavy machine gun .50 cal

Portable Anti-Materiel Weapons

Name Origin Type Caliber Photo Notes
AT4 CS  Sweden Anti-tank weapon 84mm
MILAN  France
 Germany		 Anti-tank guided missile 115mm 528
FGM-148 Javelin  United States Fire-and-forget anti-tank missile 127mm 76
ERYX  France Anti-tank guided missile 136mm 678
MMP  France Fire-and-forget anti-tank missile 140mm Successor of MILAN. To de deployed in 2018.

Grenade-Based Weapons

Name Origin Type Caliber Photo Notes
LGI Mle F1 (Lance-grenade individuel Mle F1)  France Grenade launcher 51mm
Heckler & Koch AG36  Germany Grenade launcher 40mm Service in limited numbers since at least 2014. 10,767 ordered in September 2016.
M203 grenade launcher  United States Grenade launcher 40mm

Equipment

Vehicles

Armored Vehicles

Name Origin Variant Number Photo Notes
Tanks
AMX Leclerc  France Main battle tank 241 206 in storage (406 in total)
Armoured Recce
AMX-10 RC  France Armoured recce 248 Will be replaced by EBRC Jaguar from 2020.[3]
ERC 90 Sagaie  France Armoured recce 80 Will be replaced by EBRC Jaguar from 2020.
Armoured personnel carriers
VBCI  France 629 110 of the vehicles are the armoured command variant.[4]
VAB  France 2,661 Will be replaced by VBMR Griffon from 2018.[3] Vehicle numbers include some: 100 VAB MILAN, 175 VAB ERYX, 25 VAB Reco,[5] 30 VCAC Mephisto and 89 VOA.
VHM
VHM Armoured[6][7]		  Sweden
 United Kingdom		 Armoured personnel carrier 53 Order split between Bv206S[8] and BvS10
VBL  France Armoured car 1,462
PVP  France Armoured car 1,179
Armoured recovery
Leclerc DCL  France Armoured recovery vehicle 18
AMX-30D  France Armoured recovery vehicle 30

Engineering

Name Origin Variant Number Photo Notes
Armoured engineering vehicles
Nexter Aravis  France Mine-resistant ambush protected 14
Buffalo  United States Mine-resistant ambush protected 4
Engin Blindé du Génie  France Armoured engineering vehicle 40 Used with 14 SDPMAC (Mine Clearance Explosives) Systems.
MINOTAUR  France Anti-tank Mines Dispersion Vehicle[9]
unarmoured engineering vehicles
ECA COBRA MK2  France Multi-function Military Robot 30 Used for Mine Clearing, Chemical detection, Reconnaissance

30 delivered in 2012

iRobot Packbot 510  United States Mine Clearing Robot 15
Ordered in 2009
ECA UGV IGUANA  France Mine Clearing Robot 15 15 to be delivered in 2018 and 43 until 2024
EFA  France Ferry/Mobile bridge 30 (2013)
PFM  France Mobile bridge 70 (2013)
SPRAT  France Modular assault bridge 10
TNA  France Airborne leveling tractor 6[10]
MFRD  France Rapid Destruction Drilling Truck 122
Liebherr LTM 1050-3.1  Germany Mobile crane 50
EGAME  France Bulldozer 35
SOUVIM  South Africa Interim Vehicle Mounted Mine Detector 8
MPG  France Bulldozer ?
Caterpillar D6  United States Bulldozer 40
EGRAP  United Kingdom Backhoe loader 92
UNAC 20TRR  France Road–rail Excavator 2[11]
Scania P340  Sweden Dump truck 161[12]

Unarmored Vehicles

Name Origin Variant Number Photo Notes
Unarmoured Vehicles
VLRA  France Truck
VMA  France Airport crash tender Used by French Army Light Aviation.[13]
Peugeot P4  France Light Utility Vehicle 2,500 13,500 delivered between 1982 and 1992, 600 withdrawn from service every year.
Land Rover Defender  United Kingdom Light Utility Vehicle 550[14]
VPS[15]  France Light Utility Vehicle 51 Used by special forces.
Polaris  United States All-terrain vehicle 300 Also used by French special forces.[16]
Renault Trafic III  France Minibus 60[17] Used by counter terrorist forces.
Ford Ranger  Argentina Light Utility Vehicle 3700[18] Used by Sentinelle forces.
Renault Master II  France Van
Renault Kangoo  France Light Utility Vehicle 460[17] Used by counter terrorist forces.

Artillery and air-defence

Name Origin Variant Number Photo Notes
Self-propelled artillery
AMX 30 AuF1  France 155 mm self-propelled howitzer 32
CAESAR  France 155 mm wheeled self-propelled howitzer 77
M270 MLRS  United States 227mm self-propelled multiple rocket launcher 13
Towed artillery
TRF1  France 155 mm towed howitzer 12
Mortars
RTF1  France 120 mm mortar 140
Mo 81 LLR F1  France 81 mm mortar
Anti-aircraft artillery
Mistral  France very short-range surface-to-air missile system 221

Logistics

Name Origin Variant Number Photo Notes
Porteur polyvalent terrestre (PPT)  France
 Italy
  • PPLOG : Logistic vehicle
  • PPLD : Recovery vehicle
 485 1600 on order
TRM 10000  France Truck ~1,000
TRM 700-100  France Truck 119
TRM 2000  France Truck
Renault GBC 180  France Truck 5,500
Vehicule porte conteneurs maritimes (VPCM)  France
 United Kingdom		 8x8 Container carrier 12
Camion citerne polyvalent (CCP10)  France
 Sweden		 6x6 Tank transporter 461
Camion lourd de depannage routier (CLDR)  France 8x4 recovery vehicle ?

Aircraft

Aircraft Origin Type Quantity[19] Photo Notes
Fixed-wing aircraft
Pilatus PC-6  SwitzerlandTransport & Parachuting5
SOCATA TBM FranceVIP transport & Utility8
Helicopters
Eurocopter Tiger HAP/HAD EuropeAttack helicopter629 more on order. 40 HAP and 18 HAD. (All HAP will be upgraded to HAD standard)[20][21]
NHIndustries NH90 EuropeTransport helicopter232 batches of 34 ordered in May 2013.[22] Six more helicopters were ordered in January 2016, bringing the total number of aircraft on order to 74.[23]
Aérospatiale Puma FranceTransport helicopter68
Eurocopter Caracal FranceTransport helicopter8Transferred to the Air Force by 2021.
Eurocopter Cougar FranceTransport helicopter26
Aérospatiale Gazelle FranceReconnaissance helicopter99One lost on 11 January 2013.[24]
Eurocopter Fennec FranceTraining helicopter18
Eurocopter Calliope[25] EuropeTraining helicopter36
UAVs
Sperwer FranceReconnaissance25In service since 2005. Will be replaced from 2018 by the SAGEM Patroller.
EADS DRAC  France Reconnaissance 60[26]
Thales Spy'Ranger  France Reconnaissance 105 to be delivered in 2018 and 105 in 2019[27]
ECA IT180 DroGen  France Reconnaissance 5

References

  1. ↑ "Defence key figures 2017" (in French). Defense.gouv.fr.
  2. ↑ "PAMAS G1". gendarmes.net/ (in French). Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  3. 1 2 "France launches major new vehicle programmes - IHS Jane's 360". 1 February 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-02-01.
  4. ↑ "French receive 500th VBCI". Army Recognition.
  5. ↑ "FRANCE". Armedforces.co.uk. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
  6. ↑ "French Army receives first BvS10 vehicles". Army-technology.com. 29 November 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
  7. ↑ Christopher F Foss (11 June 2011). "French Army builds up all-terrain fleet". Ihs.com. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
  8. ↑ "Bv206S Tracked Armoured Personnel Carrier, Sweden". Army-technology.com. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
  9. ↑ "Data". www.defense.gouv.fr.
  10. ↑ "Un engin unique au monde développé pour les paras".
  11. ↑ nous.fr. "UNAC - Actualités". www.unac-france.com.
  12. ↑ "28052009La Délégation générale pour l'armement passe commande de 161 porteurs P 340 CB6X6HHZ à Scania". Scania France.
  13. ↑ "Pompiers aéroportuaires : les anges gardiens de l'aviation - avionslegendaires.net". 19 April 2012.
  14. ↑ "Defender : le véhicule polyvalent de l'armée de Terre" (in French). defense.gouv.fr. 28 June 2010. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  15. ↑ "VPS Light 4x4 Special Forces patrol vehicle". Armyrecognition.com. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  16. ↑ "Data". www.defense.gouv.fr.
  17. 1 2 "Le ministère de la Défense a commandé 520 véhicules pour l'opération Sentinelle".
  18. ↑ "Le futur 4X4 de l'armée française sera un Ford Ranger militarisé".
  19. ↑ "Les chiffres clé de la defense edition 2016" (in French or English). Defense.gouv.fr. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  20. ↑ "Qualification finale du Tigre en version appui-destruction (HAD)". Defense.gouv.fr. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
  21. ↑ Tran, Pierre (8 August 2017). "France Boosts Arms Spending, Eyes C-130 Buy".
  22. ↑ "France Orders 34 More NH90 Helicopters". www.defense-aerospace.com.
  23. ↑ "French Army Light Aviation to receive six more NH90s | IHS Jane's 360". www.janes.com. Retrieved 2016-01-10.
  24. ↑ Air Forces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. March 2013. p. 32.
  25. ↑ "Eurocopter EC-120 Colibri - avionslegendaires.net".
  26. ↑ "EADS Defence & Security delivers second batch of DRAC UAVs to French Ministry of Defence".
  27. ↑ "L'armée de terre s'équipe avec les mini-drones de Thales". lesechos.fr (in French). Retrieved 2018-01-15.
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