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2023-07-01 12:59:45
In January 2016, the Directorate General of Armaments [DGA] notified Arquus of the PLFS programs [Poids Lourd des forces spéciales] to replace light reconnaissance and support vehicles [VLRA] used by units made available to Special Operations Command [COS].
However, the first 25 units delivered in a “first standard to meet the most urgent needs” did not meet the expectations expressed by the COS, which reported “malfunctions” that might interfere with their use in operation. And so they were sent back to the industrialist.
However, the modifications made to these 25 PLFS to standard 1 still did not satisfy the COS. “These vehicles have shown too many limits of employment”, summarized the specialized magazine RAIDS, in 2022. Finally, it was decided to deliver them to the commando groups of the 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade [BIM] and the 11th Parachute Brigade [BP] for their motorized patrols.
That said, the Ministry of the Armed Forces has obviously decided to go further… Indeed, during its last press briefing, on June 29, it announced that the 1st Parachute Hussar Regiment [RHP] had just received its first “airborne reconnaissance and vanguard vehicles” called “Grizzly”.
“Developed by Arquus and derived from the Sherpa range, the Grizzly is designed to provide infiltration/exfiltration capabilities for information of major interest in total autonomy for several days, in a degraded and hostile environment”, explained Olivia Penichou, the Defense Information and Communication Officer [DICoD]. No details on the cost of this program were given.
By 2030, the 11th BP will receive around forty Grizzlys… even though this new vehicle does not appear in the capacity table of the report appended to the Military Programming Law [LPM]. And, a priori, it will only be intended for airborne troops since the 2nd Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment [RPIMa] will also be equipped with it, regarding ten copies to be sent to Reunion.
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