After more than 40 years of intense activity, the VAB (front armored vehicles) will gradually disappear to make way for the Serval, a multipurpose light armored vehicle (VBML). Along with the Griffon, the Mepac (a 120mm mortar aboard a Griffon base), and the Jaguar, it is one of four armored vehicles connected to the Scorpion program for collaborative combat. Leclerc’s tank will also be updated to integrate this network. How does this new connected armored vehicle work?
A 4×4 of 15 to 17 tons
On March 29, a dozen copies were delivered to RPIMA (Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment) 3, which will receive 20 more in the coming days. The Carcassonne porpoises have already undergone three weeks of training to master this machine and its many functions. For the occasion, the Ministry of the Armed Forces exhibited one this Thursday in front of its Balard building, attracting a crowd of curious people in front of such a machine on the streets of Paris.
This 15 to 17 ton 4×4 was developed by Nexter and Texelis. Externally, it is a classic tank that offers its crew of 10 soldiers a comfort that breaks with the VAB, a Spartan vehicle. It has comfortable seats, heating or air conditioning. It even drives as easily as a civilian SUV, the drivers assured us.
A remotely operated dome
It is also a powerful vehicle. It is equipped with a 375 horsepower engine to reach a top speed of 100 km/h, with a range of 600 km. Their tires are designed to resist punctures. Even if they were all flat, the Serval could still keep moving. The machine can also be equipped with a grenade launcher or a machine gun (12.7 mm or 7.62 mm) installed in a remotely operated cupola.
But this light armored vehicle is much more than just an armored vehicle. It’s a ground combat system on its own.
In fact, looking closer, we can see cameras to monitor the environment in 360 ° and on its roof, sensors are installed to monitor the environment. All captured data is shared in a collaborative combat cloud that can be accessed through the Scorpion (Synergy of CONtact Reinforced by Versatility and Infovalue) bubble developed by Atos.
an artificial intelligence
All units involved in an operation have access to it, infantrymen, artillerymen, armored vehicles, but also helicopters, ground robots and drones share the data they obtain. Even the Scaf (Future Air Combat System) and the cyber defense and intervention (IDF) frigate equipped with digital radars of Thales will be integrated into this network.
Cyber-ready, the Scorpion bubble is protected against jams and cuts. An artificial intelligence constantly searches for accessible networks and automatically switches from one node to another. And in the worst case, a downgraded mode will provide the links, the pilot could still drive it, and the gunner will switch the machine gun to manual mode.
Serval is produced in Roanne (Loire) in the Nexter workshops. 364 copies have already been ordered by the DGA and will be delivered in September 2025. This order is the first of a total of 978 that the Army must equip by 2030.
Source: BFM TV
