The French defense ministry has placed a 1.2 billion euro contract for the delivery of additional Griffon and Jaguar vehicles for the French Army under the Scorpion program, the country’s prime minister announced during a visit to the Nexter factory in Roanne, in central France.
The order comprises 302 Griffon vehicles, 88 Jaguars and 54 mortar variants of the Griffon.
Prime minister Jean Castex and defense minister Florence Parly visited the factory after the first 20 Jaguars were handed over a few weeks ago.
The Jaguar Armored Reconnaissance and Combat Vehicle (EBRC) is designed to gradually replace three models of armored vehicles in service in the armies for 40 years, including the AMX-10 RC and ERC90 armored vehicles.
The French Army expects to receive 135 Jaguars by the end of 2025 with a target of 300 by 2030.
Jaguar is equipped with a 40mm CT40 cannon developed by CTA International, a joint venture between Nexter and BAE Systems. The vehicle also carries four MMP medium-range missiles with a range of four kilometers.
As part of the wider Scorpion program, France plans to buy a total of 1,872 Griffons and 300 Jaguars, in addition to 978 units of the smaller Serval light armored vehicles. The program will also encompass the modernization of Leclerc main battle tanks.
All of the vehicles are being delivered by Nexter, who is working with Arquus Defense and Thales on delivering the Jaguars and Griffons, and with Texelis on the delivery of the Servals.
In addition to the Scorpion program, France has also launched the development of a modernized Caesar next generation (NG) 6X6 mark II artillery system. Under a 600 million euro contract from earlier this month, Nexter will complete an initial development and qualification phase over a span of four years, before the system enters production.
In 2024, two options will be available to the DGA: either launch the production of 109 new CAESAR 6X6 Mark II, or launch the production of 33 new CAESAR 6X6 Mark II supplemented by renovation of the 76 CAESAR in the fleet today. Thus, 109 CAESAR 6X6 Mark II will be delivered to the French army artillery regiments by 2031. The contract also includes an initial lump sum support service for future artillery systems for a period of two years.
