The
Panhard
Panhard was a French motor vehicle manufacturer that began as one of the first makers of automobiles. It was a manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles. Its final incarnation, now owned by Renault Trucks Defense, was formed ...
ERC (''Engin à Roues, Canon''; "Engine with wheels, cannon") is a French six-wheeled
armoured car which is highly mobile and amphibious with an option of being
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
-proof. While various models were tested, only two versions of the ERC entered production in large numbers: the ''ERC-90 Lynx'' and the ''ERC-90 Sagaie''. The main difference between the two versions is the type of turret and 90 mm gun fitted. ''Sagaie'' is French for
assegai, a type of African
spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...
.
It will gradually be replaced in French service by the
EBRC Jaguar
The Engin Blindé de Reconnaissance et de Combat Jaguar (English: ''Armoured Reconnaissance and Combat Vehicle Jaguar'') or EBRC Jaguar is a French armoured reconnaissance vehicle that will replace the French Army's AMX-10 RC and ERC 90 Sagaie re ...
from 2021 and onwards.
Background
The ERC was originally a private venture aimed at the export market. It was developed by
Panhard
Panhard was a French motor vehicle manufacturer that began as one of the first makers of automobiles. It was a manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles. Its final incarnation, now owned by Renault Trucks Defense, was formed ...
in the latter half of the 1970s as a heavier, six-wheeled successor to Panhard's highly successful
AML range of armoured vehicles.
Design
The ERC and VCR are a family of six wheel armoured reconnaissance vehicles, the ERC being the cannon-armed turret model and the
VCR
A videocassette recorder (VCR) or video recorder is an electromechanical device that records analog audio and analog video from broadcast television or other source on a removable, magnetic tape videocassette, and can play back the recording. ...
being the armoured personnel carrier version. ERC is the French abbreviation of term ''Engin à Roues, Canon'' or Gun-armed Wheeled Vehicle. The ERC shares many components of the VCR vehicles. Two main versions of the ERC were developed: first the ERC F1 90 ''Lynx'', then the ERC F4 90 ''Sagaie''. The ''Lynx'' appeared about 1977 and the ''Sagaie'' followed approximately two years later in 1979. The ''Lynx'' was developed primarily as an armoured reconnaissance vehicle. The ''Sagaie'' was also an armoured reconnaissance vehicle, with the added secondary role of tank-destroyer. In 1977, Panhard offered the ERC and VCR to 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 Force ...
as an armoured personnel carrier (APC) and gun-armed reconnaissance vehicle. The Army instead chose the
VAB four-wheeled armoured vehicle from
Saviem
The Société Anonyme de Véhicules Industriels et d'Équipements Mécaniques (), commonly known by the acronym Saviem (), was a French manufacturer of trucks and buses/coaches part of the Renault group, headquartered in Suresnes, Île-de-France ...
for the larger APC contract, and the
AMX 10 RC
The AMX-10 RC is a French armoured fighting vehicle manufactured by GIAT for armoured reconnaissance purposes. Equipping French cavalry units since 1981, over 240 are still in service with the French Army as of 2021. In addition, 108 units were ...
from
GIAT
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 ...
for the reconnaissance requirement. Panhard also offered the vehicles to France's
Mobile Gendarmerie
The Mobile Gendarmerie (french: Gendarmerie mobile) (GM) is a subdivision of the French National Gendarmerie whose main mission is to maintain public order (from crowd control to riot control) and general security. Contrary to the Departmental G ...
(a much smaller order), but the Gendarmerie chose the Saviem
VBC-90. Panhard later found success for both the VRC and ERC in the world export market, and later with the ERC version with the French Army entering service in 1984.
[Furlong, R. "Light Armored Vehicles for French Rapid Deployment Force" ''International Defense Review'', May 1981]
Production history
The first production order for the ERC 90 F1 ''Lynx'' was in October 1979 from
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, for 36 units, to be used by
Argentine Marines to patrol the long border between Argentina and
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
. The second large order was from
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, for 42 units in early 1981. Both countries ordered the ERC ''Lynx'' version because it could elevate or depress its 90mm cannon over a wider range for operations in steep mountain terrain.
Further export orders followed. Both nations also appreciated the all-terrain mobility of the ''Lynx'' which is enhanced by the capability to raise or lower the central pair of wheels depending on terrain condition, especially in sandy or muddy ground. All versions of the ERC are also equipped with two hydrojets behind the rear wheels and require no preparation for amphibious operations.
ERC 90 F4 ''Sagaie''
![RHP Cote d'ivoire 2003](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/RHP_Cote_d%27ivoire_2003.jpg)
Shortly after the ERC 90 F1 Lynx had been built for export, Panhard recognized the need for a cost-effective light armoured vehicle that could defeat a more modern main battle tank (MBT), like the Russian T-72 which was being exported to many nations. The ''Lynx'' version could only fire medium-velocity
HEAT
In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is ...
rounds in the anti-tank role, which lacked the penetration to defeat the more modern MBTs. Panhard designed a turret which mounted the long barrel F4 90mm smooth bore-cannon developed by GIAT, and designated the vehicle the ERC 90 F4 ''Sagaie''. The F4 90mm could fire
APFSDS
Armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS), long dart penetrator, or simply dart ammunition, is a type of kinetic energy penetrator ammunition used to attack modern vehicle armour. As an armament for main battle tanks, it succeeds A ...
(Armour Piercing Fin Stabilised Discarding Sabot) rounds at a much higher velocity than the Lynx's F1 90mm; GIAT and Panhard both claimed it could penetrate heavy armour at 2000 metres. For a while, GIAT engineers could not find a suitable muzzle brake for the ''Sagaie'' which would not interfere with the firing of APFSDS rounds, but finally found a suitable solution using a muzzle brake design from the older
AMX-13
The AMX-13 is a French light tank produced from 1952 to 1987. It served with the French Army, as the Char 13t-75 Modèle 51, and was exported to more than 26 other nations. Named after its initial weight of 13 tonnes, and featuring a tough and re ...
tank.
Ivory Coast was the first export customer, ordering five ''Sagaies'' to replace its aging AMX-13s in the light armour role. At this time period, the French Army was organising the Fast Deployment Force (FDF) for overseas military missions, mainly in Africa or the Middle East. The main core of the FDF would be French Army's 9th Marine Infantry Division and 11th Parachute Division. To make the new FDF "more muscular" a new unit was activated, the 31st Heavy Half Brigade (31 DBL) of two regiments. One regiment was to be armed with vehicles mounting the
HOT wire-guided missile, and the other with cannon-armed vehicles that could provide both reconnaissance and a limited tank-killing role.
The French Army had at first planned on equipping the second regiment with the
AMX-10RC
The AMX-10 RC is a French armoured fighting vehicle manufactured by GIAT for armoured reconnaissance purposes. Equipping French cavalry units since 1981, over 240 are still in service with the French Army as of 2021. In addition, 108 units were ...
, but were told that this vehicle was not suitable for transport by the French Air Force
Transall C-160
The Transall C-160 is a military transport aircraft, produced as a joint venture between France and Germany. "Transall" is an abbreviation of the manufacturing consortium Transporter Allianz, comprising the companies of MBB, Aerospatiale, and ...
or its allies'
Hercules C-130 aircraft due to size and weight issues. In addition, most of the bridges in Africa had only a 6 to 8 ton load capacity. So instead of the larger AMX-10RC, which was already in service with the French Army, the French Army Staff took the surprise step in December 1980 of ordering the ''Sagaie'' for the future FDF.
And to date the ''Sagaie'' has proved very useful for the French Army in its African bases and even in urban conditions during the
Siege of Sarajevo
The Siege of Sarajevo ( sh, Opsada Sarajeva) was a prolonged blockade of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the Bosnian War. After it was initially besieged by the forces of the Yugoslav People's Army, the city was then be ...
. The last known combat uses of the ''Sagaie'' were with French troops stationed in Ivory Coast on a peace-keeping mission between two rival factions and 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. Mal ...
in 2013.
Sagaie upgrade
The French Army has upgraded 160 of its 192 ERC's in service with a diesel
MTU 4-cylinder 170 hp engine coupled to an automatic gearbox made by Renk and have made enhancements to the turret to improve observation, fire control and command.
ERC-90 ''Sagaie 2'' (twin-engine)
A weakness of the Sagaie is its low power-to-weight ratio. The Sagaie 2 is an ERC extended with two Peugeot XD 3T four-cylinder turbocharged diesel 98 hp engines; the same engine used on the VBL (Light Armoured Vehicle). Six were ordered by
Gabon
Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...
. A prototype equipped with two PRV V6 engines was built as a private venture, but none were ordered.
Variants
![ERC 90 ER](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/ERC_90_ER.JPG)
*EMC 81: Fire support version armed with 81mm mortar in an
Hispano-Suiza EMC turret.
*ERC 20 Kriss: Anti-aircraft version with 2× 20 mm
autocannons.
*ERC 60-20: Fitted with Hispano-Suiza 60-20 Serval turret armed with a 60 mm mortar and a 20 mm autocannon.
*ERC 90 (Diesel): Fitted with a diesel engine.
*ERC 90 F1 Lynx: Fitted with the Hispano-Suiza Lynx 90 turret as fitted to the
Panhard AML
The Panhard AML (''Auto Mitrailleuse Légère'', or "Light Machine Gun Car") is an armoured car with reconnaissance capability. Designed on a lightly armoured 4×4 chassis, it weighs an estimated 5.5 tonnes, and is thus suitable for airborne dep ...
.
*ERC 90 F4 Sagaie: Fitted with GIAT TS 90 turret with long barrel high velocity cannon that can fire APFSDS anti-tank rounds.
*ERC 90 Sagaie 2: Slightly larger version fitted with twin engines and improved turret.
*
VCR
A videocassette recorder (VCR) or video recorder is an electromechanical device that records analog audio and analog video from broadcast television or other source on a removable, magnetic tape videocassette, and can play back the recording. ...
: APC based on ERC.
Operators
![ERC 90 operators](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/ERC_90_operators.png)
*: 12 ERC-90 ''Lynx''
*: 4 ERC-90 ''Lynx''.
9 more offered by France in January 2021.
*: 190 ERC-90 ''Sagaie''
*: 6 ERC-90 ''Sagaie'', 4 ERC-20 ''Kriss''
*: 7 ERC-90 ''Sagaie''
*: 120 ERC-90 ''Lynx''
*: 40 ERC-90 ''Sagaie'', 40 ERC-90 ''Lynx''
References
;Notes
External links
globalsecurity.orgERC 90 Sagaie on Armour.wsarmyrecognition.com;Video links
*
Sagaie in action in CHADon ''Youtube'' by Panhard 2008.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Erc 90 Sagaie
Armoured cars of France
Fire support vehicles
Wheeled reconnaissance vehicles
Panhard military vehicles
Six-wheeled vehicles
Reconnaissance vehicles of the Cold War
Military vehicles introduced in the 1980s