French Véhicules de l’Avant Blindés (VAB, or Armored Vanguard Vehicles) armored personnel carriers prove effective on the frontlines, says a serviceman of the Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The vehicle’s armor reflects fragmentation and 7.62 caliber bullets, and the installed M2 Browning gun of 12.7 caliber pierces through russian APCs and IFVs and effectively suppresses enemy fire.
Read more: French VAB APCs Already in Ukraine (video)
Another aspect highlighted by the soldier was the vehicle’s cross-country ability: "We drove across a pit of 0.5 meter [deep], and it managed to overcome even such an obstacle, though jumped a little," he said
Air assault units use the VAB vehicles donated by France in a manner similar to the other vehicles of this type available to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Namely, for the delivery of up to eight troops of a landing squad and supplies to the frontline and evacuation of the wounded back to the rear.
However, in the following footage from the Kherson region of Ukraine, we can also see the VAB performing the role of some kind of a fire support vehicle during the exploitation of the area after a successful attack of the main force.
Although being well-armored, the French APC nevertheless provides good mobility and that creates space for maneuver. Ukrainian paratroopers are already armed with a variety of modern vehicles from multiple countries enabling them to swiftly move around the battlefield which plays a pivotal role during the offensive actions.
As for the VAB specifically, we should note that it is in fact a whole family of armored vehicles on the VAB chassis produced by Arquus, formerly Renault Trucks Defense. It is not the most advanced vehicle and not the latest one as well. The French army, despite still using the first generation of the vehicle (the latest one’s Mk 3), has it modernized to VAB Ultima or gradually replaces the VABs with newer Griffon multi-role vehicles, according to the official data.
The remaining vehicles on the VAB chassis differ significantly in the equipment installed. There are ones equipped with surveillance systems and jammers, and the newest Mk 3 vehicles can carry a whole spectrum of guns installed on top. As we can see from the videos, Ukraine got the "classic" "troop transport" variant.
Peculiar to the French army, the vehicles received by Ukraine have 4x4 wheel formula, while the export variants of the VAB are wheeled 6x6. Additional fuel tanks instead of the pair of wheels slightly increase the operational range of the older version compared to the Mk 3: 1,000 km vs. 890 km, according to the Military-Today.
Read more: Ukraine’s Armed Forces Seized Rare russian Tanks as Trophies, Enough for Two Tank Platoons
