The file of the AMX 10-RC that France will send to Ukraine is increasingly clear. On Thursday, during a telephone interview, Sébastien Lecornu, Minister of the Armed Forces, assured his Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksii Reznikov, that the French armored vehicles will be sent to Ukraine “within two months”, that is, at the end of winter. The two ministers also discussed the training of the crews which should start quickly.
France has not communicated the number of tanks that will be sent to Ukraine. Initially it could amount to about twenty units, a figure that corresponds to the AMX 10-RC replaced by the Jaguar since last year. The first 20 models were delivered to the 1st RCA (African Hunters Regiment) based in the Var field in Canjuers to also train the legionnaires of the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment (REC).
The DGA (Direction Générale de l’Armement) has ordered 135 Jaguars from Nexter by 2025, with the goal of 300 by 2030 with a budget of 2,000 million euros provided for in the 2019-2025 military programming law. The armies currently have 248 AMX 10-RC.
provide ammunition
The Ukrainian army command has expressed a minimum requirement of 300 tanks and 700 armored vehicles to launch this counteroffensive. France was the first to react. Since then, announcements of armored car donations have multiplied. Washington has announced the dispatch of 50 Bradley-type armored infantrymen. The UK plans to provide a dozen Challenger 2 main battle tanks.
Berlin has formalized the shipment of 40 “Marder” In the next weeks. Poland and Finland say they are ready to take Leopard 2s from their stock to supply Kyiv as soon as Germany authorizes this transfer, as the re-export of German weapons requires Berlin’s approval.
But this file is getting more and more confusing. On Wednesday, according to a Reuters report, a German government spokesman said he was not aware of any requests from its allies to send Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine.
The shipment of these weapons raises the problem of ammunition. The armored vehicles promised in Kyiv have different armaments and use different ammunition. The AMX 10-RC requires 105mm ammo, the Marder 20mm, and the Bradley 25mm. None of the three countries has indicated the amount of ammunition to be shipped.
On this point, the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, has issued an alert to donor countries. “It’s not just about adding… more weapons, it’s about making sure the systems provided work as they should, which means we also need to make sure we provide the necessary ammunition, spare parts and maintenance for the systems we already have.” are supplied,” warned Jens Stoltenberg.
Source: BFM TV
