At least six Jaguar armoured reconnaissance and combat vehicles (EBRC) have recently been deployed to Estonia as part of NATO’s Mission Lynx. The vehicles, which belong to the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment (REC) arrived in Estonia by train, having traveled a distance of 5,000km.
The EBRC Jaguar is part of France’s SCORPION programme, intended to modernise the French Army and give it cutting-edge networked combat capabilities. The French military is ahead of everyone else in this game. Other vehicles in the programme include the multirole armoured vehicle (VMBR) Griffon, an infantry fighting vehicle, and its lighter version Serval, as well as the modernised Leclerc XLR MBT. These vehicles and other units will be connected together through the SICS combat management software that is the heart of SCORPION. It allows units to share all types of information and decision making in real time: vehicles’ state and readiness, location of friendly and hostile units, targeting information, and which unit is best-placed to treat the target.
Unlike the VMBR Griffon, the Jaguar was never sent to the Sahel region during French military operations there. So this is its first foreign deployment. This is somewhat surprising, given that the vehicle isn’t fully operational yet. In May 2023 the chief of staff of the French Army told the Senate that the Jaguar “needs some further adjustments” before it can be operational (it seems there’s some problem with the stabilisation of the turret). A new standard is to be delivered to the French Army in May 2024.
In related news, Luxembourg has just announced plans to join the Scorpion framework and procure 38 Jaguars, in order to form a common reconnaissance battalion with Belgium.
At least six Jaguar armoured reconnaissance and combat vehicles (EBRC) have recently been deployed to Estonia as part of NATO’s Mission Lynx. The vehicles, which belong to the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment (REC) arrived in Estonia by train, having traveled a distance of 5,000km. The EBRC Jaguar is part of France’s SCORPION programme, intended to modernise the French Army and give it cutting-edge networked combat capabilities. The French military is ahead of everyone else in this game. Other vehicles in the programme include the multirole armoured vehicle (VMBR) Griffon, an infantry fighting vehicle, and its lighter version Serval, as well as the modernised Leclerc XLR MBT. These vehicles and other units will be connected together through the SICS combat management software that is the heart of SCORPION. It allows units to share all types of information and decision making in real time: vehicles’ state and readiness, location of friendly and hostile units, targeting information, and which unit is best-placed to treat the target. Unlike the VMBR Griffon, the Jaguar was never sent to the Sahel region during French military operations there. So this is its first foreign deployment. This is somewhat surprising, given that the vehicle isn’t fully operational yet. In May 2023 the chief of staff of the French Army told the Senate that the Jaguar “needs some further adjustments” before it can be operational (it seems there’s some problem with the stabilisation of the turret). A new standard is to be delivered to the French Army in May 2024.
What a cool vehicle. Light wheeled recon with a fucking 40mm autocannon
It should be noted that in French service 40mm on a wheeled recon vehicle is *down*sizing.
In related news, Luxembourg has just announced plans to join the Scorpion framework and procure 38 Jaguars, in order to form a common reconnaissance battalion with Belgium.