VAB

Fiche

Pertinence pour les conflits

Ceci est la fiche unique du catalogue pour ce système. Il est pertinent pour le module ci-dessous ; le Force Atlas de chaque module montre comment il y est employé.

Opérateurs

France: The standard French infantry carrier throughout Serval and Barkhane; withdrawn as the intervention ended and as the Griffon replaced the type in French service.

Rôle sur le champ de bataille

The French intervention's standard troop carrier: VABs moved infantry across the vast distances of Serval's dash north and Barkhane's corridor patrols, where protection against mines and ambush mattered more than firepower.

Points forts

Light, amphibious by design and cheap to keep running over the very long road distances of the Sahel; carried a full section with a machine gun, which was enough where the adversary had no armour.

Limites

An ageing design with limited mine protection by MRAP standards, which the Ultima up-armouring only partly addressed; several French fatalities in Barkhane came from IED strikes on light vehicles. Its relevance to the module is historical — it left with the French withdrawal in 2022.

Identification visuelle

A four-wheeled, slab-sided box with a sloping front, a small forward cab with two windscreens and, on the Ultima, added side armour and a remote weapon station.

Emploi documenté dans les conflits

Documented across Serval's advance to Gao and Timbuktu in January–February 2013 and in Barkhane's convoy and patrol operations through 2022; IED strikes on the type are part of the intervention's published casualty record. Historical only.

Opérateurs par composante et par service

• Opération Barkhane Associé historiquement
• Opération Serval Associé historiquement