Berliet VXB-170

VXB-170
Type Armoured personnel carrier
Place of origin France
Service history
In service 1973 – present
Used by France, Gabon, Senegal
Production history
Manufacturer Berliet
Specifications
Weight 12.7 tonnes (12.5 long tons)
Length 5.99 m (19 ft 8 in)
Width 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in)
Height 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in)
Crew 1 or 2
Passengers 11 troops
Armor 7 mm
Main
armament
 1 × 7.62 mm machine gun
Secondary
armament
 37 mm or 40 mm grenade launcher
Engine Berliet V800M 8-cylinder diesel engine
170 hp (130 kW)
Power/weight 23 hp/t
Suspension wheeled
Operational
range
 750 km (470 mi)
Speed 85 km/h (53 mph)

The Berliet VXB-170 is a four-wheel armoured vehicle used primarily as an Internal security vehicle. Developed and initially produced by Berliet until Berliet was merged with Saviem to form Renault Trucks (now Renault Trucks Défense), it lost to the Saviem VAB the competition to equip the French Army, even though it was cheaper than its competitor. Production stopped after less than 200 vehicles had been produced.

Its main user, the French National Gendarmerie, calls it Véhicule blindé à roues de la Gendarmerie ("Gendarmerie wheeled armoured vehicle") or VBRG.

Design history

Designed in the late 1960s under project BL-12, which aimed at maximizing the use of heavy truck components of the Berliet brand, the VXB 170 (for 170 cv[1]) entered production at the Bourg-en-Bresse plant.

It was selected in 1972 by the French Gendarmerie but it lost out to the Saviem VAB the competition for equipment of the French Army and, following the merger of Berliet and Saviem under the Renault brand in 1974, became redundant in the brand product offering so production was stopped soon after the Gendarmerie order was complete

Versions

There were originally three versions, internal security (procured by the Gendarmerie in 4 versions : basic vehicle, command vehicle, blade vehicle, and winch vehicle) , reconnaissance and patrol, and light combat. The VXB was produced by both Berliet and Saviem, the Berliet version was available with hydrojets but this option was never exercized.

Operators

Map of VXB-170 operators

Current operators

Former civilian operators

  •  Tunisia - 10 (for police, now retired)

Former evaluation-only operators

See also

References

  1. ↑ ie nearly 170 hp
  2. ↑ Stefan, Marx. The VAB Family of Armoured Vehicles: NG and Improved Vehicles, Upgrades. pp. 1–40.


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