Véhicule Blindé Léger

The Panhard Véhicule Blindé Léger ("Light armoured vehicle"), also known by its acronym Panhard VBL or simply VBL, is a French wheeled 4×4 all-terrain vehicle built by Panhard. The vehicle is offered in various configurations, and was designed to combine the agility of the Peugeot P4 liaison vehicle with adequate protection against small arms fire, artillery fragments, mines and NBC weapons. Produced between 1985 and 2010, the vehicle has been used by the French Army and other European, African and Central American armies in various conflicts since the 1980s.

Design

The French VBL programme started in 1978. The French Army was looking for a light reconnaissance vehicle, intended to work with the AMX-10 RC "wheeled tank", the Hotchkiss M201 jeep being obsolete when compared with the Soviet BRDM-2 armoured car. The new vehicle needed to be armed with a single machine gun for reconnaissance (recce) or with the MILAN missile for anti-tank combat,Template:Sfn while being protected from NBC hazards and small arms fire.<ref name="defense.gouv.fr"/> Both Renault and Panhard proposed a prototype, the trials beginning in 1982. Before its selection by the French armed forces in 1985, the Panhard model was ordered by the Mexican Army in 1984. In 1985, a preproduction of 15 vehicles for the French Army was launchedTemplate:Sfn while the VBL started its active operational service in the French Army in 1990. The French Army ordered 569 VBLs in 1990, 330 between 1994 and 1997, and 700 VB2L (lengthened variant) before 2004. The VBL, sold abroad as the ULTRAV M-11 has been produced at Marolles-en-Hurepoix, Template:Convert south of Paris. Around ten vehicles were produced each month in 2004. The 1,500th VBL was produced in 2001Template:Sfn and the last VBL of the 2,600 VBLs<ref name="Production">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> left the plant in 2010.<ref name="Ultima">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Internal view of a VBL

The VBL has two compartments: a motor bay, placed forward to protect the second compartment, which is for the crew.Template:Sfn Its compact internal dimensions led to the design of a lengthened version of the VBL.Template:Sfn The crew of the VBL is protected against NBC weapons.Template:Sfn The recce versions have two crew members while the anti-tank versions have a crew of three.<ref name="JanesVBL"/>

The French Army version of the VBL is equipped with a Peugeot XD3T turbo-diesel engine.Template:Sfn This engine is used on many civilian cars, such as the Peugeot 505, Peugeot 605 and Talbot Tagora. The VBL used many other standard civilian components, too.<ref name="JanesVBL">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> Its Template:Convert power and Template:Cvt power ratio enable the VBL to drive at Template:Cvt.Template:Sfn It has a fuel consumption of Template:Cvt.<ref name="defense.gouv.fr"/> Its range of Template:Cvt can be extended to Template:Cvt by two external fuel tanks.Template:Sfn Designed to be lighter than Template:Cvt, the mass of the VBL has increased to Template:Cvt due to the addition of more weapons, armour and systems.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The VBL is fully amphibious with a speed of Template:Cvt in water;Template:Sfn it is also air transportable by C-130, C-160, Il-76 and A400M. It can be transported underslung by larger helicopters, such as the AS332 Super Puma, and may also be para-dropped.Template:Sfn

• 
  The propeller of the VBL enables it to drive in water.
• 
  The VBL can be hooked to helicopters. Here a Portuguese VBL and an American UH-60 Blackhawk.
• 
  A French VBL packed on a pallet in order to be para-dropped.

Variants

VB2L

VBL RECO 12.7 with a PL-127 ring-mount

VBL MILAN

French versions

• VBL standard, armed with a 7.62 mm machine gun AN-F1 (3,000 rounds). It used to carry twelve APILAS anti-tank weapons, but that has been replaced by Eryx short range ATGMTemplate:Sfn
• VBL MILAN: Anti-tank medium range combat. It uses one MILAN missile fire unit with six missiles,Template:Sfn and mounts a MIRA Thermal camera.<ref name="Rwanda"/>
• VB2L POSTE DE COMMANDEMENT: ("VBL Long") Command version. Lengthened versionTemplate:Sfn that operates a VHF system with two PR4G radios, a HF System with one SSB radio for long range and a Radio/intercom system for the crew. Its armament is a ring-mount fitted with a 7.62 mm machine gun (1400 rounds). Specific equipment: A work station with map board and folding table, additional batteries to meet the requirements of the radio and auxiliary services giving up to 8 hours additional endurance, and a folding seat for 4th crew member.<ref name="VBL Army"/>
• VBL RECO 12.7: reconnaissance and troops engagement. Operates one M2 machine gun on PL-127 ring-mount protected by side armour. Older versions had a CTM-105 ring-mount.Template:Sfn The M2 machine gun can be replaced by a 40 mm grenade launcher.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• VBL Ultima: upgraded version, with a Template:Convert diesel engine, new communication devices and without amphibious abilities.<ref name="Ultima"/>

The Reco version (7.62 or 12.7) is equipped with TR-VP 213 or PR4G radio, OB 41 and OB 43 night vision goggles and DUK-DUR 440 radiation meter and a dosimeter. In the MILAN version, the TR-VP 213 is replaced by a TR-VP 13 radio and the OB 41 by OB 51 night goggles.<ref name="defense.gouv.fr">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Export versions

• VBL TOW: Anti-tank long range with a TOW tube and four missiles.<ref name="VBL Army"/>
• VBL ALBI-MISTRAL: Air defense version armed with twin-round ALBI turret firing the MISTRAL "fire-and-forget" air defence missile, six missiles including two on the fire unit.<ref name="VBL Army"/>
• VBL Mark 2: Upgraded version with a Template:Convert Steyr engine and a Protector Remote Weapon Station.<ref name="VBL2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Janes">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Prototype versions

• VBL MVO: version for riot control and internal security tasks.Template:Sfn
• VBL (à flancs redressés) CANON: With a MK 20 Rh 202 automatic 20 mm cannon on an automated turret.<ref name="VBL Army"/>
• VBL TOURELLE FERMEE: With a 12.7 mm remotely controlled turret.<ref name="VBL Army">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• VBL Azur: Urban warfare version.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Service history

A Portuguese VBL deployed in Kosovo, 2000.

The VBL has been used in many peacekeeping operations of the French Army, notably in Lebanon,Template:Sfn Bosnia,Template:Sfn Rwanda<ref name="Rwanda">Template:Cite magazine</ref> and Kosovo.Template:Sfn On 13 March 1985, the French contingent of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon in Beirut received three VBLs: one used on a static post, another as a liaison vehicle and the last one kept in reserve.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The VBL was also often seen in the Siege of Sarajevo, due to the contribution of the French Army to the Blue Helmets in Yugoslavia. It was used as a means of transport by the main commanders of the UN forces, including General Lewis MacKenzie,Template:Sfn earning the nickname "Sarajevo Taxi".<ref>Template:Cite bookTemplate:Dead link</ref> Some were captured by the Army of Republika Srpska after the NATO bombings against Bosnian Serb Force.Template:Sfn In other missions, a troop of three VBLs of the régiment d'infanterie-chars de marine in Rwanda was tasked to make contact with the Rwandan Patriotic Front and the civilian population during the Opération Turquoise,<ref name="Rwanda"/> and in Kosovo, the operational requirements of the liaison mission led to the development of the Petit Véhicule Protégé program to supplement the VBL.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In the 2000s and 2010s, the VBL has also been used by French forces in Ivory Coast. Between 2002 and 2003, the VBLs and the ERC-90s armored cars opened fire on MPIGO rebels to block their incursions.Template:Sfn They were later used in Abidjan during the operation to oust Laurent Gbagbo from power in April 2011.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In Afghanistan, the VBL units protected Kabul Airport and logistics axes.Template:Sfn<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In Mali, the VBLs were deployed in 2013 in the Operation Serval;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> in the subsequent Operation Barkhane, several soldiers crewing VBLs were killed by improvised explosive devices.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The VBL was also used in the Central African Republic in 2013.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The other European VBL users also used their vehicles in peacekeeping missions. Portuguese VBLs have been deployed as part of the Kosovo Force (KFOR) in Kosovo,Template:Sfn working alongside the old Bravia Chaimite for escorts, control missions or mobile checkpoints.Template:Sfn In this operation, the Greek military police company, tasked with traffic regulation on the Pristina-Skopje road, was equipped with VBLs. The Greek Battalion of the KFOR fielded six VBLs for reconnaissance missions. The Greek VBLs were also used in North Macedonia in 2001 during Operation Essential Harvest,Template:Sfn and in Afghanistan.Template:Sfn

Besides the French, other VBLs were also deployed in Africa. In Rwanda, the Forces Armées Rwandaises used their VBLs against the Rwandan Patriotic Front during the Rwandan Civil War,Template:Sfn with the country's reconnaissance squadron (Escadron de Reconnaissance) having been trained by French advisors to use MILAN ATGMs as well as VBLs.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Vehicles captured by the Rwandan Patriotic Army later saw action in the First and Second Congo Wars.Template:Sfn In Nigeria, the Nigerian Army used the Panhard VBL as part of the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group during the Sierra Leone Civil War.Template:Sfn They have seen further use during the Boko Haram insurgency, some being lost to Boko Haram.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the Horn of Africa, the Djiboutian VBLs served against the FRUD during the Djiboutian Civil War in the 1990s: in contrast to the better motorised Humvees, the armour of the VBLs enabled them to resist the rebels' ambushes.Template:Sfn

Across the Atlantic, the Mexican VBLs faced the Zapatista Army of National Liberation during the Chiapas conflict.Template:Sfn

Operators

North America

A FN MAG-armed VBL of the Mexican Army in 2010.

The first user of the VBL was the Mexican Army, which ordered 40 in 1984. They were also the first ones to be delivered, in 1985. Three versions were bought: standard armed with a FN MAG, VBL PC (command post, on short chassis) and VBL MILAN.Template:Sfn

Europe

A Hellenic Army VBL in 2007.

A VBL belonging to French forces in Estonia, exhibited after the military parade on the 2025 Estonian Independence Day in Tallinn

Portugal ordered its first VBL in December 1987. Locally designated M-11 for the short versionTemplate:Sfn and M-11D 4x4 M/89-91 for the long version, they have been serving in the Recce squadrons of the Intervention and of the Rapid Reaction brigades.Template:Sfn The M-11s are armed with a Browning M1919 machine gun or with a MILAN missileTemplate:Sfn and the M-11Ds with M2 Browning machine gun or SB-40 grenade-launcher on a PL127 ring-mount or with a Template:Interlanguage link radar.Template:Sfn Greece ordered six VBLs in 1997 to use them in Albania, where the Hummer was too large and too unstable in frozen roads. The success of the vehicles drove to ten more orders between 1997 and 2004. The Greek VBLs are similar to the ones of the French Army, with short and long chassis, some with PL-127 ring-mount or with MILAN missiles.Template:Sfn Having received 1,621 VBLs,<ref name="Ultima"/> the French Army has 1,446 VBLs in service in 2019.<ref name="defense.gouv.fr"/>

Africa

A Gabonese VBL with a CTM-105 ring-mount, in 2009.

Niger ordered one VB2L and six short VBLs with 7.62 machine guns in 1985, all delivered in 1986.Template:Sfn Gabon ordered in 1985 twelve VBLs for its presidential guard, one with an Elta radar, the others with a 12.7 machine gun on a CTM-105 mount or with an AA-52.Template:Sfn Togo ordered and received in 1986 two standard VBLs.Template:Sfn Rwanda ordered sixteen VBLs, including VBL PC, VBL standard and six VBL MILAN in 1986.Template:Sfn Cameroon ordered in 1987 one VB2L PC and four short chassis others with a 12.7 machine gun on a CTM 105 ring-mount or with a 7.62 machine gun.Template:Sfn The 1st squadron of the Guluf Battalion of the Djiboutian Army has been equipped with seven VBLs since 1987.Template:Sfn Some of these VBLs are equipped with a NSV machine gun.Template:Sfn A first order of 40 VBLs signed in 1985 by Nigeria was canceled but 72 were ordered in 1992 and delivered, including ten with CTM-105 ring-mount, ten VB2L PC and others with FN MAG machine guns. Around 30 were in operational service in 2004.Template:Sfn

Arabian peninsula

The Kuwait National Guard received twelve VBL TOW and eight VBL with PL 127 in 1996.Template:Sfn All these vehicles are armed with a secondary FN MAG machine gun.Template:Sfn Qatar ordered sixteen VBLs, in three versions (standard with FN MAG, CTM-105 and MILAN) to equip a recce squadron.Template:Sfn After intensive tests in 1994, the sultanate of Oman ordered more than 132 VBLs for its anti-tank and recce squadrons. Several versions have been ordered, such as the standard FN MAG version, the VBL TOW, the VBL CTM-105 and a version with Mistral SAMs.Template:Sfn The Kuwait Ministry of Interior ordered twenty VBL Mk 2 for its special forces in 2008.<ref name="VBL2"/>

Asia

Indonesia ordered eighteen VBLs, armed with the FN MAG, in 1996. However, economic difficulties and the Timor Leste crisis prevented them from buying more.Template:Sfn

Map with operators of the VBL in blue and former operators in red

Current Operators

• Template:BEN: 10 purchased from France in 1986.<ref name="SIPRI2024">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> All operational as of 2024.<ref name="IISS 2024">Template:Cite book</ref>

• Template:BWA: 64 VBL in service as of 2024.<ref name="IISS 2024"/> 37 received from France between 2002-03.<ref name=SIPRI2024/>
• Template:CMR: 5 received from France in 1986 and still in service.<ref name=SIPRI2024/><ref name="IISS 2024"/>
• Template:DJI: 15 in service as of 2024.<ref name="IISS 2024"/> SIPRI confirms 10–15 received from France in 1987.<ref name=SIPRI2024/>
• Template:FRA: 1,380<ref name="IISS 2024"/>
• Template:Flaglist: 14 purchased from France in 1985 and still in service.<ref name=SIPRI2024/><ref name="IISS 2024"/>
• Template:GRC: 242 received from France between 1997-2002.<ref name=SIPRI2024/> All currently in service.<ref name="IISS 2024"/>
• Template:IDN: 18 received from France in 1997.<ref name=SIPRI2024/>
• Template:KWT: 40 purchased from France in 1997, 2009.<ref name=SIPRI2024/>
• Template:MEX: 40 purchased from France in 1984; 8 equipped with Milan ATGMs.<ref name=SIPRI2024/>
• Template:Flaglist: 7 received from France in 1986 and still in service as of 2024.<ref name=SIPRI2024/><ref name="IISS 2024"/>
• Template:NGA: 72 received from France in 1990, 1994. Still in service.<ref name=SIPRI2024/><ref name="IISS 2024"/>
• Template:OMN: 132 received from France between 1997-2004.<ref name=SIPRI2024/> 124 operational as of 2024.<ref name="IISS 2024"/>
• Template:PRT: 37 received from France in 1986, 1999-2001.<ref name=SIPRI2024/> 16 still in service.<ref name="IISS 2024"/>
• Template:QAT: 16 purchased from France in 1992 and still in service.<ref name=SIPRI2024/><ref name="IISS 2024"/>
• Template:RWA: 16 received from France in 1998. Still in service.<ref name=SIPRI2024/>Template:Sfn<ref name="IISS 2024"/>
• Template:TGO: 2 received from France in 1987. Still in service<ref name=SIPRI2024/><ref name="IISS 2024"/>
• Template:ARE: 24 received from France in 2004. Still in service.<ref name=SIPRI2024/><ref name="IISS 2024"/>

Former operators

• Template:Flagicon image Boko Haram<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• Template:Flag: some capturedTemplate:Sfn
• Template:SEN: 9 received from France in 1994.<ref name=SIPRI2024/>
• Template:Flag: 2 received from France in 1997.<ref name=SIPRI2024/>

Failed exports

VBL Mark 2 at a Russian arms show in 2013.

• Template:Flag: the Ministry of Internal Affairs considered the building of 500 to 1000 VBL Mark 2 for its security forces in 2011.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This prospect was cancelled in 2014 due to the international sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian War.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• Template:Flag: the Bundeswehr tested the VBL at the end of the 1980s.Template:Sfn

See also

• Panhard AML
• Puma (AFV) of Italy
• Komatsu LAV of Japan
• Otokar Cobra of Turkey

Bibliography

• Template:Cite book