GIAT AMX-10P

     Notes:  The AMX-10P was designed to replace the older AMX-VCI series in the APC role, and also to serve as the basis for some other vehicles.  Development began in 1965, prototypes appeared in 1968, and first issue began to the French Army in 1973.  By the time of first issue, the AMX-10P was already regarded as obsolete, and continual attempts were made to address its shortcomings.  The AMX-10P still serves today, both in the French Army and others, though the French are in the process of replacing it with the VBCI.  The AMX-10P is a little heavier than similar vehicles, and has better armor protection, particularly at the sharply-sloped glacis.  It also does have a light autocannon available; it is a little more than a simple APC, but nowhere near an IFV.  Despite the designation, the AMX-10P is not related to the wheeled AMX-10RC, though many of the samew automotive components are used.  About 10 countries used or still use the AMX-10P and its variants.

The AMX-10P

     Layout is basically conventional, with a driver’s hatch on the front right that has three vision blocks to the front, the center of which can be replaced by a night vision block.  The engine is to the left of the driver, and the engine and transmission form a complete power pack.  At the center and slightly to the left of the vehicle is a two-man Toucan II turret, and on the rear deck is a pair of hatches.  Main entrance to the passenger compartment is by a power-operated ramp, which also has a pair of doors in it.  The doors each have a firing port in them.  The sides have no firing ports, but two vision blocks are found on each side and a rotating periscope at the front right.  Locking points are found by both overhead hatches in the passenger compartment for the mounting of a Milan ATGM launcher, and the AMX-10P is sometimes used as an ad hoc ATGM carrier vehicle by the addition of racks for ten Milan missiles (plus two in the launchers) in lieu of troops.  The troops have a collective NBC system to protect them, as well as a heater and an NBC alarm.

     The Toucan II turret has a small hatch on the top for the commander; the gunner sits in the vehicle to the left of the commander and has no direct access to the outside.  The AMX 10P has a minimum of night vision equipment, and the field of view is quite small with the night vision (7 degrees wide).  Later, better day/night sights were added, with a much better field of view, though magnification was limited in day and night to x6.  The 20mm autocannon is effective against light vehicles, personnel, and some light armor, but is generally regarded as inadequate in modern combat, and was so even at the time of its inception.

     Power is provided by a Hispano-Suiza HS-115 supercharged diesel engine providing 280 horsepower, coupled to a semiautomatic transmission.  The suspension is of the torsion-bar type, with three track return rollers and five roadwheels.  The first and last roadwheel on each side have shock absorbers.  The steel tracks have replaceable rubber tracks.  The AMX-10P is amphibious with little preparation; a trim vane must be erected at the front, a bilge pump switched on, and waterjets for propulsion turned on.

     GIAT has proposed an upgrade kit for the AMX-10P.  This primarily consists of a more powerful 300-horsepower engine, a fully-automatic transmission, appliqué armor, and the Dragar turret, as installed on the AMX-10P25.

The AMX-10P25 ICV

     The AMX-10P25 variant is primarily used by Singapore, and in very small amounts by some Indonesia, France and Mexico (though Singapore’s are largely retired and have been sold to other countries or cannibalized).  It first was shown at an international arms exposition in 1983. The AMX-10P25 is for the most part the same as the AMX-10P, but the turret is replaced by a new Dragar turret which is armed with a heavier autocannon.  The new turret is a one-man turret, where the commander is also the gunner; he has a hatch on the turret deck.  On either side of the turret is a pair of smoke grenade launchers.  The amphibious system is beefed up and modified to handle the additional weight.

The AMX-10P Marines

     Designed for the Indonesian Army, the AMX-10P Marines differs primarily in more powerful waterjets for amphibious operations and the installation of a remote, overhead-mounted M-2HB instead of the standard weapons mount.  It makes for a lighter vehicle than the standard AMX-10P, granting a mobility increase both off and on land.

Other APC Variants

     The AMX-10P Ambulance uses the hull of the AMX-10P, but the weapon station is replaced with s simple rotating unarmed commander’s cupola.  The standard crew is three (with the commander also being a medic).  Three stretcher cases or one stretcher case and four seated patients can be accommodated. Additional equipment includes an air conditioner, a small refrigerator, a searchlight, a sink with a 50-liter water tank, an oxygen system, a defibrillator, a blood transfusion machine, the equivalent of four doctor’s medical bags and 20 personal medical kits.

     The AMX-10PC is typical of command variants of vehicles – it does not have the weapon turret, simply a commander’s cupola with a pintle-mounted weapon.  The rear section has the typical map boards, office and plotting supplies, and a variety of communications gear, such as one short, two medium, and two long-range radios.  A ruggedized laptop is also included, and one of the long-range radios is data-capable.  A hand-held image intensifier, thermal imager, four pairs of binoculars, and a laser rangefinder are included in the vehicle equipment. The rear of the vehicle has a short canopy that can be erected if two AMX-10PCs are back-to-back to form one work space; an awning can also be erected on one side.  The hull does not have a raised rear section, but the rear roof of the vehicle carries a bolted-down frame for a 5kW generator. Similar vehicles are built as FIST or signals vehicles, differing only in details of the interior equipment.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: As the Twilight War wore on, the AMX-10P25 Marines and AMX-10P Marines were adopted by the Philippines, and by French, Belgian, and Spanish Marines and the French Foreign Legion for use in the Middle East. 

*Belly armor is 3.

**See text above.

GIAT AMX VCI

     Notes:  Designed around the same time as the US M-113, the AMX VCI is the same sort of vehicle: a “basic box” sort of APC with minimal armor, designed as a battlefield taxi and not a true fighting vehicle.  The AMX VCI is part of a larger family of armored vehicles; the first of these was the AMX-13 light tank, and as a result, the AMX VCI was, at first, designated the AMX-13 VTT – the AMX VCI itself generated over a dozen variants.  Frontal armor is excellent for an APC of its period, but the side and rear armor is average.   By 2003, the AMX VCI had completely left French service, and was out of service among many of its export customers.  Most modern armies no longer use them except in certain specialist roles or for spare parts, but some Third World countries still have them in service, most notably in Africa and Mexico.

The AMX VCI APC

     The AMX VCI has a steeply-sloped glacis with a flat front deck for the driver and the engine; behind the driver is a pulpit-type gunner’s position that is at the front of the rear superstructure that is the passenger compartment.  The driver has three vision blocks to the front and the middle block can be removed and replaced by a night vision block.  The glacis has a splashboard to help protect the driver when fording deep water or from mud, and like many APCs of the time, mounts a spare set of three treads and a roadwheel.  The gunner has no night vision, but does have a manually-rotating cupola with all-around vision blocks.  This cupola originally mounted a pair of AAT-52 machineguns, but this was quickly replaced with a single M-2HB (the AMX VCI 1987), or a true turret armed with a single AAT-52 or AAT-F1 machinegun.  The commander is to the right and rear of the gunner and has his own hatch with vision blocks to the front and right, but no weapon mount.  Another variant (the M-56) has the small Toucan turret armed with a 20mm autocannon and a coaxial machinegun. The troop compartment at the rear has room for 10 soldiers; they are 33seated down the center, back-to-back.  There are four firing ports on each side of the passenger compartment contained on the lower parts of the overhead hatch, and one each in the two large rear doors.  These are single slide-open firing ports instead of being the ball-and-socket sort of firing ports that are typically found on newer APCs. Overhead, on each side of the passenger compartment roof, is a pair of hatches which open out to the sides.  The crew and passengers originally relied on their personal NBC masks and suits, but later the AMX VCI was fitted with a collective NBC system.

     The original engine of the AMX VCI was a SOFAM 8Gxb 250-horsepower gasoline engine, with a manual transmission.  In the 1980s, this was replaced by 280-horsepower Baudouin 6F11SRY turbocharged engine and a semiautomatic transmission.  Some export versions had their engine and transmission replaced with one based on the Detroit Diesel 6V-53T 280-horsepower turbocharged engine and an automatic transmission to form a unitary powerpack that is easier to maintain.  (These diesel-powered versions are sometimes referred to as AMX VCI 1987s.) The suspension is unusual in that it the line of the tracks is not level; it is noticeably lower at the rear of the vehicle.  It is based on conventional torsion bars with shock absorbers at the front and rear of the five roadwheels.  Early examples have four return rollers, but later production reduced this to three return rollers.  Most tracks for the AMX VCI are steel, but rubber track pads can be retrofitted.  The AMX VCI is not amphibious, though fording of up to 1 meter is possible.

The Other APC-Type Variants

     Perhaps the simplest of the AMX VCI Variants is the AMX Cargo.  It is an armored logistics carrier; the side and rear armor is lightened somewhat, lightening the vehicle in general and enabling it to carry more cargo.  Other than this, the primary alternations are the absence of seats for passengers and rollers and lock/tie-down points inside to facilitate loading and unloading of cargo. The rear are has an open-topped roof, and there vehicle has a materiel-handling crane able to lift 3 tons.  The front driver, gunner, and commander’s position are retained, with the commander having the controls for the crane.  The collective NBC system applies only to the crew within the cab area.  The commander’s weapon is on a simple pintle mount.

     The AMX PC is a command post variant of the AMX VCI, and has the usual sort of items that such a vehicle carries: a map board, interior lighting, office and plotting supplies, one short, two medium, and two long-range radios (with one of the long-range radios being data-capable), and a ruggedized laptop radio.  Price also includes a hand-held image intensifier, thermal imager, and laser rangefinder. They also carry a lighter weapon on their gunner’s mount, and the commander’s position is deleted (though the vision blocks are retained).

     The AMX TB is an armored ambulance version, which has a crew of four medics and can carry 4 sitting wounded and 3 stretcher cases.  It has the equivalent of four doctor’s medical bags, 20 personal medical kits, a defibrillator, 2 sets of oxygen kits, a small refrigerator,  and a warmer for blankets and fluids.