MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st March, 2023) The first batch of 32 new multi-role armored vehicles (VBMR) Serval, produced by the Nexter company, will go into service of the French army this week, the French Defense Ministry said on Thursday.
"Twelve light armored vehicles Serval have already arrived, 20 more will be supplied by the end of the week. By the end of the year, the French ground forces will have 119 Serval vehicles," the statement read.
The French Defense Ministry added that within the framework of the Scorpion rearmament program, 978 vehicles would be delivered by 2035.
Another 364 vehicles should be produced and supplied to the country's armed forces by the end of 2025.
This batch of the armored vehicles is the first since the production program was launched in 2018. The new machines should replace VAB armored vehicles, the French army has been using for more than 40 years.
Serval armored vehicle is one of the four types of armored vehicles being developed under the Scorpion program, which also includes Griffon heavy armored personnel carrier, Jaguar combat reconnaissance vehicle, as well as MEPAC mortar. The French army has already received 450 Griffons and 40 Jaguars.
In the wake of the Ukraine conflict, French President Emmanuel Macron said that French military manufacturers should produce more equipment. In January, he stated that the country would increase its defense budget for 2024-2030 to 400 billion Euros (over $435 billion) from the 295 billion euros allocated for defense in 2019-2025.
