The Aravis is an Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle developed and built by French company

Nexter KNDS France (formerly known as Nexter, GIAT Industries or ''Groupement des Industries de l'Armée de Terre'', Army Industries Group) is a French government-owned weapons manufacturer, based in Versailles. The company was wholly government-owne ...

. An order for 15 Aravis vehicles was placed by the Délégation Générale pour l'Armement in April 2009 for use by the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

as a reconnaissance and escort vehicle for engineer units. Deliveries for the initial order began in January 2010.

Design

The Aravis' chassis is based on the Unimog U5000 chassis. The total internal volume for the vehicle is 9.5m³ with 8m³ of that under full armoured protection. The Aravis can be equipped for a variety of roles, including patrol vehicle, ambulance, and command and control vehicle.

Protection

The Aravis was designed with protection against mines,

improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional warfare, conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached t ...

s, 14.5mm anti-armour rounds, and 155mm artillery bursts in mind, meeting full STANAG 4596 Level 4 specifications. Like many other mine-protected vehicles, the Aravis was built with a V-hull intended to deflect as much energy as possible from detonations beneath the vehicle away from the vehicle. Nexter has patented the modular hull armour used on the Aravis under the name "Safepro". The vehicle has survived detonations of of TNT at a distance of in testing.

Armament

The Aravis' primary armament is housed in a remote weapon station. Armament can vary based on the customer's specifications, but the vehicle has been displayed with a Selex 12.7mm machine gun mount, and Nexter has developed the ARX 20 remote weapon station, which features a 20mm M621 cannon, for use with the Aravis. The ARX 20 can also be fitted with the Pilar anti-sniper system.

Mobility

The Aravis is capable of speeds of up to 100 km/h on roads, and is said to have a "''high standard of cross-country and urban maneoeuvring capability''". Without preparation, the vehicle can ford up 1m of water. The Aravis uses are

Michelin Michelin ( , ), in full ("General Company of the Michelin Enterprises P.L.S."), is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes '' région'' of France. It is the second largest t ...

365/80R 20 152 K with run-flat and central tire inflation systems. In terms of strategic and operational mobility, the vehicle is transportable by aircraft equivalent to the

C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...

or larger.

Operational history

The

deployed 11 Aravis in Afghanistan (from 2010 to the French departure) and, from 2016, 6 of them in

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

, as part of the Operation Barkhane. In both cases they were used by ( Military engineering) units for route clearance. An Aravis of the French Army was also spotted in Syria during the Deir ez-Zor campaign. The Nexter Aravis is known to be used in the 2019 Gabonese coup d'état attempt by Gabonese Republican Guard forces to take on rogue Gabonese soldiers.

Operators

* Albanian Land Force - soldiers of various units tested the Aravis in 2012 but an unknown amount was bought. *

– 15, known as , highly protected armored vehicle. * Armed Forces of Gabon – 12 ordered but only 8 delivered due to budget reasons, armed with 20mm cannons in RWS stations. * Saudi Arabian Army – 73 with 20mm canons were ordered in 2011 and 191 more in 2012. This order of 264 APCs, intended for the Saudi Arabian National Guard, was blocked in 2012 by Germany but all of them were delivered between 2013 and 2016.

References

External links

Aravis Technical data sheet - specifications - pictures
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Armoured fighting vehicles of France Mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles KNDS France Military vehicles introduced in the 2010s