The Aravis is an

infantry mobility vehicle An infantry mobility vehicle (IMV) is a wheeled armored personnel carrier (APC) serving as a military patrol, reconnaissance or security vehicle. Examples include the ATF Dingo, Iveco LMV, Oshkosh M-ATV, AMZ Dzik, AMZ Tur, Mungo ESK, and B ...

developed and built by French company

Nexter Nexter Systems (formerly known as GIAT Industries or ''Groupement des Industries de l'Armée de Terre'', Army Industries Group) is a French government-owned weapons manufacturer, based in Roanne, Loire. Group organization The Nexter group is ...

. 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 (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

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 military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechan ...

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 The V-hull is a type of vehicle armor design used on wheeled armored personnel carriers (APCs), infantry mobility vehicles, infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) and MRAPs. The design originated in the 1970s with vehicles such as the iconic Casspi ...

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 Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

at a distance of in testing.

Armament

The Aravis' primary armament is housed in a

remote weapon station A remote controlled weapon station (RCWS), or remote weapon station (RWS), also known as a remote weapon system (RWS), is a remotely operated weaponized system often equipped with fire-control system for light and medium- caliber weapons which c ...

. 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 The M621 is a 20 mm automatic cannon of French design, developed by Nexter as on-board armament for armored vehicles, aircraft, helicopters and small coastal vessels of the French Navy. Variants THL 20 Turreted cannon for helicopters. POD ...

, for use with the Aravis. The ARX 20 can also be fitted with the

Pilar anti-sniper system Pilar, Portuguese and Spanish for pillar, may refer to: People * Pilar (given name), a common abbreviation of ''María del Pilar'', including a list of people so named * Pilar (surname), a list of people surnamed Pilar or del Pilar Places Argen ...

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 (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ''région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and la ...

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 ...

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,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

, as part of the

Operation Barkhane Operation Barkhane was an anti-insurgent operation that started on 1 August 2014 and formally ended on 9 November 2022. It was led by the French military against Islamist groups in Africa's Sahel region.Military engineering Military engineering is loosely defined as the art, science, and practice of designing and building military works and maintaining lines of military transport and military communications. Military engineers are also responsible for logistics be ...

) 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 The Albanian Land Force ( sq, Forca Tokësore të Republikës së Shqipërisë) is the land force branch of the Albanian Armed Forces. Mission The Albanian Land Force's main mission is the defense of the independence, sovereignty and territorial ...

- 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 The Armed Forces of Gabon (french: Forces armées gabonaises) or the Gabonese Defense and Security Forces (french: forces de défense et de sécurité gabonaises) is the national professional military of the Republic of Gabon, divided into the Army ...

– 12 ordered but only 8 delivered due to budget reasons, armed with 20mm cannons in RWS stations. *

Saudi Arabian Army Royal Saudi Land Forces ( ar, القُوَّاتُ البَرِّيَّةُ المَلَكِيَّة السُّعُودِيَّة, Al-Quwwat al-Bariyah al-Malakiyah as-Su'udiyah) is the land warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of Saudi Arab ...

– 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 The Saudi Arabian National Guard or SANG ( ar, الحَرَس الوَطنيّ, al-Ḥaras al-Waṭanī), also known as the "White Army", is one of the three major branches of the military forces of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The national gua ...

, 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 Nexter Systems Military vehicles introduced in the 2010s