European leader of land protected mobility, French company Arquus (formerly known as Renault Trucks Defense, Acmat and Panhard) will be present at the DEFEA exhibition in Athens, Greece, as an official sponsor.
French expert of land protected mobility, Arquus is also a long-term partner for the Greek Army, having supplied more than 240 VBLs to Greece, the largest fleet of VBLs in the world outside of France. The company will be exhibiting its vehicles, products and services for Greece, notably its workhorse for tactical missions, the VLRA tactical truck, and the Trapper light liaison vehicle, alongside a complete range of armored and non-armored vehicles ranging from light 4×4 to heavy 8×8 solutions.
The company will also be presenting its solutions to upgrade the Greek VBLs, which could benefit from the upgrade program currently undertaken by Arquus for the French VBLs.
Arquus will be exhibiting in Hall 3, stand n°3B35.
At DEFEA 2021, Arquus wishes to present the full range of its tactical and logistics solutions for Greece. The company is exhibiting its VLRA (Véhicule Léger de Reconnaissance et d’Appui – Reconnaissance and Support Light Vehicle), a robust, versatile, modular 4×4 vehicle, designed for high mobility and transport in the harshest conditions with minimal maintenance needs.
The VLRA is a 12-ton vehicle which can load up to 5-ton payloads or combat teams of up to 30 soldiers and 3 crewmen. More than 1,000 VLRA have already been produced, including the Bastion, Arquus’ monocoque APC, which is also based on the VLRA’s versatile chassis. The VLRA is a proud heir to the first-generation VLRA, which was a global success with more than 12,000 units produced for several units throughout the world, starting with the French Special Forces, the British SAS and the Irish Army Ranger Wing, but also countries of the Mediterranean such as Cyprus.
Arquus will also be offering its new non-armored, 4×4, Trapper light liaison vehicle, selected by the French Ministry of the Armies under the VT4 denomination to equip the French Army, but also the Army of Air and Space and the Navy. A total of 4,380 vehicles will be delivered to France, 2,500 of which have already been produced. A specialized production line is dedicated to the VT4 program at Arquus’ plant in Saint-Nazaire. The Trapper is a light, high-mobility vehicle designed for liaison and transport missions in low-threat zones. It can load up to 5 people or 4 fully combat-ready soldiers.
To complement these vehicles, Arquus also presents models of the Fortress, its new flagship for high mobility and protection, and of the Scarabee, the company’s new generation reconnaissance vehicle and very first hybrid-drive military vehicle in the world.
Arquus will also be discussing potential upgrades for the Greek Army’s VBL fleets. Under the VBL Ultima program, French VBLs are currently being upgraded to the Ultima version, which includes a new, more powerful engine, reinforced suspensions for increased payload and road handling, as well as air conditioning. Such developments could be used for the Greek Army as well.
Arquus will also be presenting its support and maintenance capabilities, including innovative solutions such as connected glasses for remote support, 3D-printing, increased and virtual reality, as well as deployable workshops, fleet audit solutions and training.
Arquus is a historical supplier for the French Army, with more than 25,000 vehicles currently in service (90% of all wheeled vehicles), ranging from versatile non-armored 4×4 VT4 vehicles for liaison purposes to the new Griffon and Jaguar combat vehicles currently produced by the company in a short-term consortium with Nexter and Thales for the French Army, but also for Belgium. Other combat vehicles include the VAB which is still the workhorse of the Army, the PVP and the VBL. Arquus also produced and now supports trucks such as the VLRA, GBC180, TRM10000 and others, which are vital for the Army’s tactical and logistics capabilities and serve daily in foreign operations in the harshest conditions.
Arquus has also recently presented a new range of 4×4, 6×6 and 8×8 trucks, the Armis family, designed for France and available for export markets. In the framework of the French VBL Ultima program, Arquus fully repairs and refurbishes the Army’s VBL, while upgrading several parts and organs, including a modern, much more powerful 130hp engine, new, reinforced suspensions for higher payload and better road handling, as well as air conditioning and other upgrades. As an heir to the VBL, Arquus has developed the Scarabee, the first hybrid-drive military vehicle and most advanced reconnaissance vehicle in the world. Arquus can also offer RCWS through its Business Unit Hornet.
