2023-07-02 13:14:00
Are the French tanks too light? A Ukrainian officer said that the AMX-10 RC tanks, offered by France to Ukraine and currently used in the Kiev counter-offensive against Russia, do not seem suitable for carrying out attacks on the front. Commander of a battalion of the 37th Naval Infantry Brigade, currently deployed in the Donetsk region, Major Spartanets (Spartate), his nickname, observed these French tanks on the battlefield.
“They are used for supporting fire, because of their light armor. Their armament is good, their observation instruments are very good. But alas it’s light armor, which makes them unsuitable (for attacking),” says Spartanets. fearsome 105 mm 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 great weakness, according to Major Spartanets. pierced the vehicle,” notes the 34-year-old officer. And, unfortunately, this has already led to the death of the crew on one occasion, again according to Major Spartanets.
Four dead in the tank
“A shell exploded next to the vehicle, the fragments pierced the armor and the ammunition stock (on board) detonated,” said the Ukrainian officer. “The crew of four, alas, remained inside, they were killed in the tank. According to Major Spartanets, AMX-10 RCs also have problems with their gearboxes, perhaps, according to him, because of their use on dirt roads.
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“Sending these vehicles (to attack) to be destroyed is (…) useless because it is a risk mainly for the crew”, estimates the officer, without specifying the number of these English armored vehicles in his brigade. He also refused to show AFP AMX-10 RC deployed on the front.
The French military expert Michel Goya noted in January on Twitter that the great mobility of these armored vehicles made them very useful “to serve in the units of “firefighters” behind the front” or to quickly exploit breaches on it. he AMX-10 RC is not, however, made “for combat against battle tanks, with heavier guns”, he added, already pointing to too weak shielding against “all the anti-tank armament on the field of modern battle”.
The Oryx site, which lists the losses in equipment of the two camps on the basis of images published in free access on the Internet, affirms that at least three AMX-10 RC were “abandoned” after being rendered unusable during combat on the front.Major Spartanets says his soldiers underwent a month-long training in France to learn how to use the vehicle, but it was not enough to master it.
The best American armor?
According to the French army, the AMX-10 RC, which weighs around 20 tons, is protected against small infantry weapons. Developed in the 1970s, it was gradually replaced in France by a more modern armored vehicle, the Jaguar. The Ukrainian officer claims that the armor of American Oshkosh and British Husky light transport vehicles, also delivered to Kiev, is more suitable and effective than that of the AMX-10 RC.
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The Oshkosh and Husky are designed to withstand improvised explosive devices and ambushes. In Major Spartanets’ experience, their gates can withstand “four” direct hits from an RPG-type anti-tank grenade launcher. He 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 cool,” says Spartanets.
When an Oshkosh explodes on a mine, a wheel can be torn off, “but the infantry don’t worry,” he explains. Conversely, when a transport vehicle of Soviet design, such as BMPs or BMDs, runs over a mine, “it’s very sad for the crew and the vehicle”.
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