FN 4RM/62F AB

     Notes: This Belgian vehicle is used only by the Belgian Gendarmerie, and marks the FN company's only foray into the armored vehicle market.  It began service in 1971, but has now been long out of service, having been retired after their service in the Belgian Gendarmerie in the 1990s.  The Belgians do, however, keep several of them in running order in storage.

     The 4RM/62F AB looks very much like the Panhard AML, and sems to take some design cues from that vehicle. The hull and turrets are of all-welded steel.  The driver is in the center front of the hull in the glacis; he has a single hatch opening upwards, and a front armored windshield and three vision blocks to the front and sides. The windshield has an armored cover which is deployed in combat situations.  The crew can also enter and exit through a door on either side of the hull; the door on the right side has a vision block. The turret is in the center of the vehicle, and the commander and gunner sit in this.  The commander and gunner have a hatch on the turret deck, with the commander on the right side of the gun and the gunner on the left. The commander’s cupola has all-around vision blocks, while the gunner has vision blocks on the front and sides of his hatch. (He also has the sights for the main gun.) The turret has electric rotation and a manual rotation backup. The crew had a collective NBC system, into which they could plug in their protective masks.

     The 4RM/62F AB is powered by a 130-horsepower gasoline-fueled engine, and coupled to a manual transmission with four forward and one rearward gears. The 4RM/62F AB could turn in only 6 meters and could ford 1.1 meters without preparation.  (It is not, however, amphibious.) The engine compartment has an automatic fire suppression system.

     Two variants are available, distinguished with their turrets.  The first one is a large turret armed with a 90mm MECAR low-pressure gun and a coaxial MAG machinegun. These versions have six smoke grenade launchers on either side of the turret at the rear sides. The second turret was smaller, and equipped with a 60mm French breech-loaded mortar capable of direct fire and two coaxial MAGs.  On this model, the same smoke grenade launchers were situated on the center sides of the turret.  In both cases, the smoke grenades are electrically fired by controls in the commander’s cupola.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: By 2000, the remaining vehicles were being operated by occupying French forces for internal security purposes.