Good evening, /k/, I'm not sure it deserves its own thread, but I felt like sharing this small video of our latest strike against ISIS.
Footage of stuff getting blown up to smithereens is always relevant.
https://www facebook com/armeefrancaise/videos/934872343225158/
Apply dots where necessary.
Pic is unrelated eye candy. Plus my fucking finger.
Hey frenchfag, I'm sure the VBCI does fine in open flat terrain
But what about outside that? Mountainous rocky terrain, wet boggy terrain?
I just have doubts about moving to an all wheeled armored vehicle philosophy, and making them as heavy as they're getting with up to 32t distributed across 8x8 wheels
>>27910568
I tried to answer that but I was too late !
http://boards.4chan.org/k/thread/27887672/cheese-eating-surrender-monkeys#bottom
I'll add that it behave well in Afghanistan, though it suffered at first because they up-armoured it without haveing strengthened the suspensions. It's fine now.
In general, I'm more of a tracks guy, so...
>>27910609
Afghanistan is still pretty flat and solid
>>27910609
>more a tracks guy
I'm for whatever works best
Light and mobile work with wheels
All terrain works with tracks or lots of wheels and low weight
And big and heavy will tracks
I feel LAV type vehicles should be the light mechanised that can be rapidly deployed while you're sitting around getting your heavy armor into ships and unloading at ports, they can fit into C-130s and land anywhere
>>27910635
Not that flat, at least not where we were deployed. Though I'm not quite sure where and how exactly we employed them over there.
>>27910609
>>27910678
Well you're not wrong. Wheeled vehicles have great strategic/operationnal mobility, they are faster, are less maintenance heavy, etc. A lot of compelling arguments can be made.
But what we see is vehicles getting heavier and heavier because of the increased threats they face. This calls for tracks. Especially for IFVs, which are supposed to ride along with tanks.
http://s25.photobucket.com/user/AURREG/media/LAVbogged.jpg.html
Bogged ASLAV in East Timor
Apparently when they had to go back in 2006 in Operation Astute after civil order had broken down they didn't even bother with LAVs just loaded up m113s - when the unit, 3/4th cavalry regiment, had already demobilised and were converting to the new Bushmaster Infantry Mobility Vehicle, they had 1 week to restore over 30 to working order for rapid deployment!
>>27910810
And incidentally the Bushmaster could be competing to replace the VAB
It has consistently survived and protected crews against IEDs :3
>>27910871
We already have a replacement for the VAB with an initial order for 2000+ VBMR-Heavy Griffon.
>>27910956
What we still don't know is what will be our new light APC and eclairage/reconnaissance light platform to replace the VBL, but that's way down the line so don't hold your breath for it.
>>27910981
I wish it had been the CRAB, really.
>>27910678
There are exceptions to this
German Wiesel AWC is tracked and two at a time can fit in a CH-53
British Saracen is of course famous for being a light tank doing recon, infantry support, antitank. Its replacement the Ajax though is going to be 40t
>>27910678
Keep in mind the french army is expeditionary in nature, and logistically highly constrained. Commonality is a virtue on its own.
There were initial talks to outfit our two heavy formations with tracked IFV but seeing the appaling disponibility of our micro-fleets of specialized vehicles, having everyone on the same platform is an acceptable solution.
Plus, in the typical example of russian heavy tracked formations rolling through muddy terrain in eastern europe, i don't believe the french doctrine would encourage responding symmetrically by aligning equaly heavy vehicles with a linear frontline. You'd have something along the line of lighter formations in high mobility vehicles in between the heavy ones, using our obsession with superior communications and short decision loops, plus a fair amount of indirect support and enthusiastic use of ATGMs, to maintain the ennemy off-balance. Ence the need for a dedicated heavy IFV, no matter how much Frenchfag wish we'd have one, is minimized through alternative solutions.
Wouldn't personnaly mind a couple hundreds uparmored as fuck CV90, though. Not for the addressing the problem of mobility in terrain leaning on the swampy side of things (I do believe the VBCI is alright for anything below that) or overly mountainous, rather because Ukraine certainly demonstrate current IFV are very fragile for the available firepower.
Frenchfag's opinion on this matter is highly welcome.
>>27910520
>pic
>video
We baguette, now.
>>27910635
>Afghanistan is still pretty flat and solid
afganistan is mostly rocky mountains, sandy and/or gravelly terrain
that place for wheels is as bad as it gets,
where the fuck you do you pull out your nonce from
>>27911207
>Wouldn't personnaly mind a couple hundreds uparmored as fuck CV90, though. Not for the addressing the problem of mobility in terrain leaning on the swampy side of things (I do believe the VBCI is alright for anything below that) or overly mountainous, rather because Ukraine certainly demonstrate current IFV are very fragile for the available firepower.
At this point, just take the existing project of using the old unused leclerc hulls and sticking a new turret with ATGMs and the 40mm CTA to do a Baguette BMPT, with the Leclerc Koufra.
>>27910520
Hey Frenchfag! I'm a Kraut, but my dad is French. Is there any way for me to get citizenship and join the French army in time to get to join the removings of kebab?
Or will it all be over too soon?
Or am I too old (26)?
Or are you not taking people these days?
I know nothing.
>>27911107
>look at how cute it looks
>look again
>it is now with a 25mm cannon
Not so cute anymore, eh?
>>27911251
Your dad was frech? Prove it somehow and so are you.
>>27911261
The 25mm gun is overkill for the "eclairage" role it is supposed to perform.
What is the english equivalent of that btw? Reconnaissance is what the Jaguar will do, find stuff and fuck its shit up if it can, like the AMX-10RC, eclairage is what the VBL does: find stuff and call Frenchfag and his Leclerc for righteous fury.
Frenchbro.
Watch for roads with a rise on either side... Fucking IED's linger there.
>>27911303
>not wanting autocannons on everything and their mothers
>>27911231
Hehe nice one.
>>27911207
Good points, good points. especially regarding commonality. I'm well aware that I'm wishlisting more than anything else.
Really it should go this way :
Political vision -> grand strategy -> military strategies/concepts -> doctrines -> now let's see what kind of stuff do we need and how they should work together.
In that context, it pains me to say, our obsession with light, wheeled vehicles makes sense, considering how often we're deployed in Africa. There's obviously much more to it, but still.
Now, there's an up-gunned, up-armoured version of the VBCI in the works. 40mm CTA turret, etc. I reckon it should weigh up to 32 or 35 tons in the end. So, there's that.
>>27911251
Oh you definitely can, and recruiting is on the rise anyway. Several comrades of mine have dual citizenship.
>>27911207
Yes and its expeditions are primarily to north east Africa, which is mainly flat open desert sand dunes and rock
So wheeled works fine there I'm sure
But my concern is how it goes outside that in other terrains
>>27911303
The Saracen might have been equivalent, it was 7t light tank with 20mm gun
>>27911324
Eh, what can i say, i must be a faggot.
In all seriousness there are two things that made me say so. First, that some former army chief of staff said that at the end of our modernisation program we'd only have three calibers for vehicle guns in the army (then again, commonality is a virtue), 12.7mm, 40mm CTA, and 120mm.
Which means that the VBCI should at some point all receive a 40mm CTA gun
>happyfrog
Whatever we have for eclairage in the sub-10 tons range will probably never ever get one, nor will it get a 25mm weapon
>sadfrog
Plus this turret is heavy as fuck (800kg), bulky as fuck, and prevents you from mounting any reconnaissance mast on that tiny roof.
I'd say something like pic related would be much more suited to it. Flexible, light and coherent with the mission.
>>27911303
Scouting, anon.
And yeh, the CRAB goes beyond the simple stealth scouting the VBL so excels at.
>>27911233
Yeah there's the mountains you gotta walk or take tracks or all terrain vehicles
And plenty flat as well
>>27911373
Oh also good point about commonality there >>27911207
>>27911394
>CRAB
>40MM CTA
We are not baguette, we are diamond dicks.
oi frenchfag, other french here, i kinda want to join the army but i'll porbably get an other job before that, is reserviste any good ?
>>27911474
Right now ? Kinda meh, though there are opportunities, even to get deployed.
But things might be moving soon, if what we've been hearing since saturday from Hollande comes to fruition.
>>27911504
Bibelot here, they're talking about turning the reserve into a "national guard" or whatever
>>27911533
So emergency services?
>>27911504
i see, thanks for the answer
>>27911533
fuck, guess i'll join anyways then
>>27911533
What would that even change?
On an unrelated note, why don't they just allow military personnel and police officers to conceal carry once off duty?
>>27911396
Scouting. I just couldn't find the right word any more. I hate when my brain does that.
>>27911559
self defense law for citizen are retarded, once an officer or military is off duty they are considered civilian
>dude attack you with a knife
>either you defend yourself with a knife or your fist, guns are not allowed because you have more power than your opponent
i think we are just going to apply the good ol' "kill a nigger, throw him in the river"
>>27911606
Hm wrong, that's not how it works. It's not a "tooth for a tooth" system.
For example, guy charges me with a knife during a sentinel/vigipirate patrol ? I shoot him. Self-defense. Your life was threatened, that's all it needs. You have to use proportionate force, according to the threat, that's all.
>>27911641
>guy charges me with a knife during a sentinel/vigipirate patrol ?
yeah, the dude was talking OFF DUTY, meaning you're not on patrol, you are going back home in civilian clothes
>>27911662
>getting visibly angry that your questions are being answered
>>27911233
Keep that mind:
Wheels -> less impact on local infrastructure (roads) -> less insurgency -> better cooperation with indigenous forces.
Experience from afghan front.
>>27911662
If they were allowed to carry off duty they would be also allowed to use lethal force for self defence and help of their fellow citizens.
>>27911679
what ? no, i'm not angry, i already knew that if a soldier is on patrol during ops he can shoot back, but we were clearly talking about off duty LEOs/soldiers
Hey frenchfag,
What the longest time you've spend inside the leclerc non-stop? And how did it smell? Who is responsible for cleaning the interior?
>>27911702
Anon, this :
>>27911699
I gave the vigipirate example because it's one I know well, and because they insist a lot on what the code civil says about self-defense, since it applies to us too : we don't get a special version.
And the code doesn't mention firearms or knife etc.
>>27911702
If you allow someone to carry a firearm which shoots actual bullet for self defence, you allow them to make use of lethal force if they feel threatened, a knife can be as dangerous as a gun when close to someone.
>>27911732
Non-stop, hatch closed ? About 10 hours. The smell is a mix of diesel, oils, heated machinery... it's quite specific and I like it, but to describe it...
That one time, it also smelled of cheese, because I had a nice one in a tupperware behind my back, because rations are nice but, you know... I had to send it to repair, and I remember the mechanics making faces because of it hehe.
Pic related, you can see the tupperware and the cheese right below my ear.
>>27911393
Saracen had a 76mm gun, mate.
Honestly, I'd love us to have a modernised version of them. Beautiful little vehicle.
These days we use CVRT with the Scimitar, Spartan and Sultan as a combined light wing to such actions. For lighter roles than needed for that, we have the Jackal and Coyote. (4x4 and 6x6 open topped gunwagons basically, awesome rides!)
>>27911797
>Storing important cheese within his tonk
Good lord, you couldn't be any more French if you led the tank charge with a kepi on from the commander's station.
>>27911942
About that...
(all right, it's not me)
>>27911975
>drive me closer
>>27910956
I honestly find it much uglier than the VAB it replaces.
>>27912271
I didn't like the CG model but i find it looks much better with the scale physical one. I'm more suprised about the dimensions that thing will have, if the BMX01 cencept is any indication. Seems a bit broader and not as high, but with 24 tons it must be pretty much the same rough dimensions.
>>27913203
But then again, modern soldiers are a couple centimeters taller than in the 70s 80s, and carry so much more shit with them.
