Too light armor: A Ukrainian officer believes that the AMX-10 RC tanks, delivered by France to Ukraine and currently used in the Kiev counteroffensive, are not suitable for frontline attacks.
A battalion commander of the 37th Naval Infantry Brigade, currently deployed in the Donetsk region, was able to observe these French tanks on the battlefield.
“They are used for fire support, because of their light armor. Their weaponry is good, their sighting instruments are very good. But unfortunately, they are lightly armored, which makes them unsuitable (for attacking),” he says. Spartanets (his nickname).
In January, French President Emmanuel Macron had promised delivery of these highly mobile wheeled armored reconnaissance vehicles equipped with a formidable 105mm gun. Four months later, they were already in service at the front, according to kyiv.
But in this high-intensity war where heavy artillery strikes are permanent, their thin armor is a major weakness, according to the Spartanets commander.
“There were cases where a 152mm shell exploded nearby and the shrapnel pierced the vehicle,” the 34-year-old officer notes. And unfortunately, this has already led to the death of the crew on one occasion, according to the officer.
“A shell exploded next to the vehicle, the fragments pierced the armor and the ammunition (on board) detonated,” the Ukrainian official said. “The crew of four soldiers, unfortunately, remained inside and died in the armored vehicle.”
According to Spartanets, the AMX-10 RC also has problems with its gearbox, perhaps, according to him, due to its use on dirt roads.
“Sending these vehicles (to attack) to be destroyed is (…) useless because it is essentially a risk to the crew,” the officer estimates, without specifying the number of these French armored vehicles in his squad.
French military expert Michel Goya noted on Twitter in January that the high mobility of these armored vehicles made them very useful “for serving in units behind the front” or for quickly exploiting gaps in it.
However, the AMX-10 RC is not made “for combat against tanks, with heavier guns,” he added, already pointing to too weak armor against “all anti-tank weaponry on the modern battlefield.”
The Spartanets commander says his soldiers underwent month-long training in France to learn how to use the vehicle, but that wasn’t enough time to fully master it.
According to the French army, the AMX-10 RC, which weighs around 20 tons, is protected against infantry small arms. Developed in the 1970s, it is gradually being replaced in France by a more modern armored vehicle, the Jaguar.
The Ukrainian official affirms that the armor of the American Oshkosh and British Husky light transport vehicles, also delivered to kyiv, is more adequate and effective than that of the AMX-10 RC.
The Oshkosh and Husky are designed to withstand ambushes and IEDs. In Spartanets’ experience, its doors can withstand “four” direct hits from an RPG-type anti-tank grenade launcher.
The officer shows AFP two Oshkosh used by his unit. One of them has the hood – a “weak” point according to the officer – slightly damaged by shrapnel. “Otherwise, in terms of protection, the vehicle is very good,” says Spartanets.
When an Oshkosh is blown up by a mine, it might lose a wheel, “but the infantry shouldn’t worry,” he explains. Conversely, when a Soviet-designed transport vehicle, such as a BMP or BMD, goes through a mine, “it’s very sad for the crew and the vehicle.”
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