Giat, the French armored vehicle consortium, has completed a design study of the Engin Blinde a Roues de Contact (ERBC, Wheeled Armored Combat Vehicle). By 2012, this will be a primary armored vehicle of the French Army. This will be a 6x6 armored car intended for recon, surveillance, target acquisition, and control platform for aerial and ground robots. It will replace the AMX-10R and the ERC Sagaie. The basic ERBC will be a 16-ton vehicle with a 40mm case telescoped cannon and several beyond-line-of-sight missiles. The three crewmen will be in the hull and the turret will be remotely-controlled and packed with electro-optical sensors. The hull will be titanium with stealth characteristics. The French
expect to buy about 400-500 of these vehicles. The 40mm cannon can be elevated to 45 degrees for use in urban combat. A larger 8x8 version of the ERBC could be built if needed as a 24-ton tank, carrying a 105mm electro-thermal cannon in a two-man titanium turret.--Stephen V Cole