A French AMX-10 RC seen here in Paris after the parade on July 14, 2021. By Wikimedia user (Kevin.B)
France will supply Ukraine with AMX-10 RC wheeled light tanks, President Emmanuel Macron’s office announced on January 4.
The Elysée said in a statement after a phone call between Macron and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy that France will send the light tanks, which the French military has been gradually replacing with new Jaguar armoured reconnaissance vehicle.
An adviser to France’s Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu said that that decision was made to help Kiev prepare for “a possible Russian offensive” in the spring. The Russian military has been counducting a special operation to “demilitarize” and “denazify” Ukraine since February of last year.
“Ukraine is at a tipping point now at the frontline,” he said.
The 6×6 AMX-10 RC was manufactured by France’s Nexter Systems in the 1980s. The light tank’s main armament is a 105 mm F2 BK MECA L/47 medium-pressure gun that can fire APFSDS [armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot] rounds. Usually, the tank is loaded with 38 rounds of different types. Its second armament is a 7.62 mm NF1 coaxial machine gun with 4,000 cartridges.
The light tank, which is powered by a Baudouin Diesel Model 6F11 SRX with 280 hp, is known for its high mobility. It has an operation range of 800 kilometers with a top speed of 40 kilometers per hour off road and up to 85 kilometers per hour on road.
However, the AMX-10 RC is poorly armored. The tank has a frontal armour resistant against 23 mm armour-piercing ammunition from 300 meters and resistance against 14.5 mm ammunition all-around with add-on armor.
The French military possess more than 240 AMX-10 RC light tanks. It is still unknown how many will be supplied to Ukraine, or when.
By supplying the AMX-10 RC, France will become the first country to send Western-made tanks to Ukraine. Prior to the French decision, Kiev forces were only supplied with Soviet-made tanks from Eastern European NATO states and other sources.
It’s worth noting that France has already supplied Ukraine with self-propelled howitzers, dozens of armored vehicles as well as hundreds of anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.
The French light tanks will likely make up for Ukraine’s armor losses. Nevertheless, they will not shift the balance of power in the battlefield. Like all other weapons supplied to Kiev forces, they are only meant to prolong the conflict.
Stationary targets… sweet!
Is Russia going to wait fofor them to be deployed or will actually take out the supply lines?
They need to stop them entering the battle zone the dnipro is the ideal natural land block Bomb all the bridges to stop them reaching the donbass Then hit western area transport hubs
big mystery why the Dnipro bridges have not been blown yet. Some explanations are – the Russia wants to use these bridges itself when it gets to the Dnipro, – Russia wants these NATO weapons to go into the Donbass war zone to study ther performance, detection signature and take them out, sort of pre NATO war training. – Russia wants the NATO equipment to keep coming to the war zone to destroy it and run down NATO stock.
Being so far behind the front lines they could probably float things across at night at random points even if the bridges were down, I imagine it would be an inconvenience but not cut off supply entirely. These AMX-10 RC are amphibious, they have water jet propulsion, although that was removed on some upgraded variants. Perhaps it’s intended to chase out undesirables, they have an easy route to make an exit?
Guys, it’s Dnepr, russian river for the last 1000 years. And you are using bastardized variant of hohols, they love to put I instead E in all russian names or replace A with O — this is main method of bastardization. Alexandr is Olexandr, Vladimir — Volodimir though it should be Volosvit, if translate to their volapuk. Alexey (greek name Alexios) — Oleksa, sounds like feminine. Real bastardization. Sometimes it’s funny, because bastardization makes words sounds hilarious. “Nasosy” (pumps) in ukrovolapuk is “nasosi” (suck), “podarili” (gifted) – “pidarili” (sodomized).
Sort of like how the Albanians took the Serb word ‘Kosovo’ and made it Kosova.
I also dont understand why the Ukronazi transport infrastructure is still standing. Just FOAB them.
they want them to be deployed. The Russian military most probably lamented the lack of NATO targets to practice on and collect as trophies and want these to come to their borders and be destroyed. The Russian military are probably growing upset that there will be no Abrams or Leopards and that the West seems to be giving up too soon
Russia will lose soon.
Ukranazis begging for money and equipment should state the obvious and current situation they’re in, desperately trying to keep the false image that they are winning when we all know that’s far away from the truth.
Stand a blathering Ukrainian on its head, and you’ll get something close to the truth. Pull it inside out like a sock, through its arsehole and you’ll get even more.
lol when ukros happy to get these old amx10 and old greek bmp1, than you know, tic-tock, whats the clock.
It’s always 7:40 while they are ruled by judeo-banderites as Kolomoyskiy named ukro-jewish nazis including himself with print on his own t-shirt. 7:40 is famous song of russian jews.
France another miserable, failed democracy, meddles in the affairs of others. Shit figure.
We did vote No to EU.
But France is a country of surrender monkeys, so no one cared. How many times is it planning to surrender to nazis in the course of history?
It’s a shit.
More French scrap metal.
French crap metal.
Your mind is full of crap too so it is needed for you to be sent there.
There’s end of your life.
You don’t know how to talk so I can’t understand the gibberish you speak.
How will they behave on frozen mud.???
Well on normal mud they get stuck, so that 85 km/h stat no longer means anything in Ukraine with its world famous mud. It is light tank for hunting down light armoured rebels in the dessert. Probably will never see the Ukraine war front , but will get sold on the weapons black market by Ukraine military oligarchs for war in Africa where it is more suited.
They just keep digging a deeper grave don’t they?
France yet again at the forefront of being at the wrong end of the most rational behaviour. Napoleon syndrome maybe?
That is a very expensive piece of military shit. All know that in HISTORY mobility was and is one of the most important aspect in a confrontation. That shit can be disabled only by firing standard infantry incendiary ammo into it’s shoes. And when that happen, all internal structures will burn beyond repairing possibilities. But in a hull down positions can be a real help. Waiting for the first info with one of that ready to go on a scrapyard.
Does it come with the special french surrender kit?
Typical idiot response to what happened in WW2, when history shows the French have had more military victories then any other country including the US, whose victories fighting on its own amount to two – those military giants Granada, and Panama
But the French will never live down their quick surrender to the Nazis. They’re doing it again surrendering to Nazi demands in Ukraine. It will stay with them forever. The only good thing I can say about the French is that they’ll demonstrate more readily in the streets, a bit more anarchic in mindset like the Italians than these Anglo-Saxon sheeple robots in the UK and Germany, who like nothing better than to stand at attention and salute some dimwit or other leading them to destruction.
That said, both France and Germany are scurrilous nations that will sign anything and then throw their agreements into the garbage. It’s something they learned from Washington, which means they’re just scurrilous puppets, even worse than just scurrilous.
It’s called a “cercueil”.
They are also getting BFVs, which can be wrecked by RPG fire.
You do not prepare for defense with light tanks. This is where as heavy as possible would be welcome.
These are good for aggressive missions, counter attacks at best.
They simply want to sell old technique to imbeciles.
Gradual step up Ukraine can only join nato if it keeps all the land ( no care about the people) They have to have crimea to join nato Biden has told them this Zelensky knows this so cannot negotiate In turn NATO have promised any weapons to win this gradually escalating the armaments not to upset their own populations who do not want a world war so it is being done gradually a creeping escalation NATO troops are also at the fronts as you can hear from the videos originating near artemovsk and earlier in Kiev and bucha Dressed up as supposedly mercenaries operating in separate groups Taking that into account the Russians are doing well considering who they are actually fighting The rest of the free non western colonial world needs to step up like Iran and free everyone from usa/uk hegemony their is a lot at stake if Russia fail it will be china next
Those won’t last long. Too bad, I’ve always kind of thought they were cool vehicles…but not in a heavy armored conflict against a power like Russia. These are colonial intervention machines
More Western junk polluting the landscape.
This vintage piece of old scrap metal will get stuck (like somebody posted, ‘stationary targets’ ) in mud and snow…Like Napoleon and his horses
AMX-10 RC is a colonial weapon for suppressing African tribes who fight with Ak guns and heavy machine guns. AMX is good for that, in Ukraine theatre of war, AMX-10 RC is a piece of cake for the Russians to devour.
Once the skinnies with RPGs are showing up, this cool looking vehicle is in serious trouble. It might be good for recon and/or as a tank support vehicle, if it can keep up on off road with the main battle tanks.
However, if Zaluzhny was asking for hundreds of tanks to push the front line to Melitopol (about 80km), then there should be thousands of these. With “unlimited ammo”, too. And ways to obtain, hold and exploit aerial supremacy… One without the others is good just to keep Ukronazis killed for nothing.
That’s gonna get stuck in the mud quickly, hehe.
Highly likely to be used in clashes between Zelenskyy and his own military once the schism starts.
With the Russian kornet atgm it will be one shot two kills on these tin cans.
Rolling coffins being flushed out of the french mothball yards.
As a commentator in Hungary says, the Western military aid to Ukraine is in “homeopatic” doses. Thus far Hungary remains the only country not to send weapons, only humanitarian aid to the conflict.
Homeopatic doses of pathetic stuff… 🤣😂
Not so small, Poland sent over 200 tanks. Yes, it’s obsolete export version of T-72, but it’s same level as first version of M1 (with 105 mm gun) or “Leopard 2” before A4 version. T-72B (1989) can be compared wit L2A4 and M1A1. Numbers of artillery guns — hundreds, i.e. quite big though not enough to fight with success against Russia.
Need to stop all uranium supplies to France and purchase reserves of such countries as Mali, Chad. It will strike at electricity generation of France (~75% of total volumes) and will rise cost of supplies for industry and people. France must pay for russophobia and supporting of nazism. Micron is playing Bonaparte and must end like him (poisoned by englishmen) or something like that.
compared to Russia’s buildup, the supply of these vehicles is too small to even go around as trophies for the Russian troops. Most Russians soldiers will just be sad that they never even saw one