Véhicule Blindé de Combat d'Infanterie — the French Army's principal 8x8 wheeled infantry fighting vehicle. The VBCI-2 variant mounts a Nexter T40 turret with the CTA International 40mm cased-telescoped cannon, one of the most advanced medium-caliber weapons in service. The base VBCI weighs 28 tonnes with STANAG 4569 Level 4 protection, mine blast protection, and NBC system. Carries 8 dismounts plus a crew of 3. Powered by a Volvo D12 550 hp engine with a top speed of 100 km/h on road. Over 630 delivered to the French Army. The vehicle has seen combat deployment in Mali, Lebanon, and other French overseas operations.
![Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KNDS) logo](data:image/svg+xml;utf8,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="200" height="60" viewBox="0 0 200 60"><rect width="200" height="60" fill="%23111"/><text x="100" y="38" font-family="Arial" font-weight="bold" font-size="22" fill="%23c8a84b" text-anchor="middle">KMW</text></svg>)
- STANAG Level 5 frontal protection
- 25mm Bushmaster II fires air-bursting AHEAD
- 9-troop capacity large for IFV
- 100 km/h wheeled mobility
- French Army backbone IFV for Scorpion
- No ATGM in standard fit
- 29.5t heavy for wheeled platform
- French sole-source
- No APS in standard configuration
- 25mm limited vs modern heavy IFVs (Lynx 30mm)
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SIGN INProtection level against contemporary ATGM threats is the defining metric here, and these figures hold up well.
Sustained supersonic cruise changes the engagement timeline fundamentally — defenders have less decision time.