Petit Véhicule Protégé

The Petit Véhicule Protégé ("Small Protected vehicle") is a light, general-purpose armoured 4-wheel drive vehicle used by the French Army, made by Panhard. It is also designated as Auverland A4 AVL (Armoured Vehicle Light). Built by Auverland, it is one of the successors to the Peugeot P4.

Petit Véhicule Protégé
PVP on display at an open door day of the 18ème Régiment de Transmissions (18th Signal Rgt), on 15 June 2009
TypeLight armoured vehicle
Place of origin France
Service history
Used bySee Operators
Production history
ManufacturerPanhard
Unit cost€167,000[1] (FY 2012)
Produced2008–2012
No. built1133
VariantsSee Variants
Specifications
Mass4,390 kg
Length4.6 m (15 ft 1 in)
Width2.28 m (7 ft 6 in)
Height2.17 m (7 ft 1 in)
Crew2 to 4

ArmourSTANAG 4569 (6 to 10 mm)
Main
armament
Medium machine gun
EngineIVECO 8140 2.8 litre turbo-diesel
160 hp (120 kW)
Power/weight34 hp/tonne
SuspensionWheeled 4 x 4
Operational
range
800 km (500 mi)
Maximum speed 120 km/h (75 mph)

It's intended mostly as personnel carrier, weapon carrier, and for reconnaissance, detection and communications purposes.

History

In 2004, the first batch of 314 vehicles was ordered. The first vehicles were delivered in February 2008 and production ended in July 2012.[1] 100 vehicles will be fitted with the WASP light RWS. It is expected that the French DGA will order an additional 300 PVP vehicles.

The 2009-14 military budget originally called for a total of 1500 PVPs, but this was reduced to 1233 in 2010 and 1133 in 2012. In the end, 1073 were delivered to the Army at a total cost of €242.7m (~US$325m) for a unit cost of €167,000 (~US$220,000), or €226,000 (~US$300,000) including development costs.[1]

Design

The PVP is modular, allowing extra seats to be added for more personnel, or to be used as a light truck. The armour, made of steel and aluminium, offers level 2 protection (STANAG 4569) for the crew and the engine. The floor is protected against antipersonnel mines (type DM 31).

Variants

  • PVP HD (Heavy Duty) – larger version, based on the same architecture but with level 3 armour. With 5 doors and more cargo area (2T payload, total internal volume of 7.9 m³). Gross vehicle weight is 7.6 tonnes.
  • PVP XL (Extra Large) – with a total internal volume of 9.4 m³ and a gross vehicle weight of 12 tonnes (max. payload: 3 tonnes). The maximum number of seats is 10. The basic armour of the XL model also offers a level 3 protection.
  • PVP APC – Based on the French Army's PVP but with a 150mm higher roofline to provide room for 6 troops. Developed in 2010.[2]
  • Gavial – Unbuilt 5-door version with pneumatic suspension, to be licence-built by Rheinmetall. Offered to the Bundeswehr but they chose the LAPV Enok instead.
  • Colt – License-built by Ashok Leyland, first revealed in 2012.[3] Variants of the original PVP as the Colt Light Tactical Vehicle,[4] the PVP HD as the Colt Light Armoured Vehicle[5] and the Colt Airmobile.[6]

Operators

Map of PVP operators in blue
  •  Chile – 15 PVP delivered (Chilean Marines)[7]
  •  France – 1073 PVP delivered[1]
  •  Mali - Said to operate an unknown number of PVPs.[8]
  •  Romania – 16 PVP delivered from 2012–15.[9]
  •  Togo – 8 PVPs delivered in 2008 for Togolese forces deployed with MINURCAT.[10]

References

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