Ukraine War
Ukraine: Wheeled Tanks — France Sends AMX-10RCs
Wheeled tanks? What are they, and is this a French policy change?
When I first saw the picture I thought of an elephant. It’s a big, dangerous beast with a long proboscis.
Why wheels and not tracks?
The global defense industry continuously develops new types of weapons. Among others, the idea of installing relatively powerful weapons on a fast moving and relatively light wheeled chassis is of particular interest. Such military equipment received the unofficial name “wheeled tank.”
Their older tracked cousins were designed to break the stalemate of trench warfare on the Western Front in World War 1. But wheeled armored vehicles with cannon armament are to some extent a “product” of the landscape of other continents.
As an example of the first wheeled tank, the French Panhard AML armoured car is often quoted, one version of which carried a 90-mm cannon. The wheeled suspension of this armored car proved itself in Africa during various wars involving France in Algeria and Morocco, although Britain and Germany fought with tracked tanks in North Africa in WW2.
The concept goes back many years.
I hope that he carries a puncture-repair kit.
The main impetus to the creation of a heavy armored car with a serious gun was fighting in southern Africa. The South African military concluded that the most effective format in the local conditions would be wheeled armored vehicles with, at a minimum, bullet proofing and anti-tank weapons.
At the same time, the first designs appeared with regard to armoured vehicles with Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected (MRAP) features. This was with the Rhodesian army. MRAP vehicles usually have “V”-shaped hulls to deflect explosive forces from land mines or IEDs below the vehicle, thereby protecting vehicle and passengers but their high centre of gravity led to many topple incidents.
Long marches on dry roads and savannah in the Angolan War quickly led to breakdowns of tracked vehicles.
Due to the comparatively hard ground of the savannahs, the tracked tank maneuverability characteristics turned out to be excessive, which, however, had almost no effect on the track wear.- topwar.ru
The South African Ratel 90 was the first wheeled IFV to enter service worldwide. It had a mine-protected hull and was designed to hunt Russian built T-34 tanks, but was less effective against newer tank designs.
Following the experience of South Africa, other countries started production: the French ERC-90 and AMX-10RC, the Italian Centauro, the American M1128 MGS.
Italy learned some hard lessons in Somalia in the early ‘90s:
- tyre problems on poor roads
- armour too light
- 105 mm gun too powerful for the local targets
- power train problems
In summary, the Italian Centauro fared no better than tracked equivalents.
It seems that each class of machine must be carefully tailored to its theatre of operation.
The Russian military held back until 2018.
While a main battle tank breaks down after 10,000 kilometers, a wheeled tank will do so only after 100,000 kilometers. Great endurance, reliability and impressive firepower make it ideal for combat operations on the flanks, in reconnaissance missions, patrols and combat security operations, Viktor Murakhovsky, editor-in-chief of Russian defense magazine Arsenal of the Fatherland, said in an interview with Russian TV channel Zvezda. Murakhovsky added that the new armored vehicle would likely be equipped with a 125mm smoothbore gun — the same as that used on the Sprut-SDM self-propelled tank destroyer. This, in Murakhovsky’s view, would give Russia a “wheeled tank which has no equivalent in the world.”— Sputnik News
Yes, ‘no equivalent’. It seems to be a modern Russian army concept…
Their K-17 Bumerang wheeled infantry fighting vehicle is relatively new, but as yet there is no version with that smoothbore gun that I could discover.
The French AMX-10RC
The AMX-10RC was originally developed for reconnaissance and fire support. This light wheeled armored vehicle is highly mobile and fitted with a powerful gun, and is capable of fire support and rapid intervention. At the time of its introduction it was considered a tank destroyer. However this ageing vehicle is no longer effective against modern main battle tanks. Still though it can effectively engage armored vehicles, buildings, field fortifications and other targets.
However the 105 mm rifled gun has a significant drawback, as it is not stabilized and vehicle can’t fire accurately on the move. The AMX-10RC fires APFSDS, HE, HEAT and smoke rounds. Its range of effective fire is over 2,000 m. Even today the AMX-10RC remains a formidable fire support vehicle (Military Today)
Significance
The significance of the French announcement is that France’s Macron has gone back on previous statements and France is now the first Western supplier of (nearly) modern tanks to Ukraine — albeit wheeled tanks. Ex-Soviet EU states have been sending old Soviet tracked tanks to Ukraine in a replacement/rotation process, being backfilled with more modern NATO armour but Putin seems to have been less sensitive about those.
I think that Western countries are now seeing a real possibility that Putin could be pushed out of Ukraine this year, and are ready to provide heavier weaponry to assist.
- US supplying one Patriot missile defence system and 50 Bradley IFVs
- Germany is sending Marder fighting vehicles
- Poland is considering sending German-built Leopard tanks but requires German permission to do so. Other countries too, are lining up.
But do note that much weaponry that is being supplied is coming out of Western ‘reserves’ and, just like the French AMX-10RC it has already been replaced by newer equipment. In the case of the AMX-10RC it has given way to the EBRC Jaguar which has lighter main armament, and is a compromise design (replacing the AMX-10RC and the Panhard ERC 90 Sagaie):
I don’t think we’ll see those in Ukraine soon. Unless the French change their minds. Again.
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