France demonstrates maritime transshipment capability of Griffon
The French Army and French Navy conducted a two-part evaluation of the amphibious transportability of the Griffon 6x6 multirole armoured vehicle last month.
‘The purpose of these evaluations is to validate the possible configurations of the loading plans on the various ships of the French Navy likely to embark the Griffon,’ the French MoD announced on 2 November.
Staff from STAT (the technical section of the French Army) firstly worked with Griffon crews and personnel from the amphibious assault ship Mistral on a side door embarkation.
The second part of the manoeuvre was conducted offshore near Toulon with Mistral’s sister ship, Dixmude, to conduct a maritime transshipment operation.
An amphibious capability allows Army units operating Griffon ‘to be engaged in a demanding environment and in a joint framework’, the MoD argued. ‘These assessments thus make it possible to consolidate interoperability with the French Navy.’
As of September 2020, 143 Griffons had been delivered to the French Army, according to Shephard Defence Insight.
As part of our promise to deliver comprehensive coverage to our Defence Insight and Premium News subscribers, our curated defence news content provides the latest industry updates, contract awards and programme milestones.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Land Warfare
-
Israel brings down drones using a laser, claiming operational first
The announced successful deployment of a prototype laser foreshadows Rafael Advanced Defense Systems’ plans to begin rolling out versions of its Iron Beam laser, beginning later this year.
-
Hanwha contracted to further develop long-range missile defence radar
The new Multi-Function Radar (MFR) is being developed under Phase II Long-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (L-SAM-II) and is planned to provide three to four times greater coverage than the earlier version of L-SAM.
-
Improved British Army Javelin launcher passes milestone as more missile orders placed
Almost US$2 billon has been placed in orders for the Javelin anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) in the past 18 months with the British Army just announcing firing of its Lightweight Command Launch Unit (LWCLU) over an extended range.
-
Canada unveils plans for mobile artillery
Canada did deploy the US M109 155mm/39 cal tracked self-propelled artillery system as its only mobile weapon for many years but these were finally declared surplus in 2005.
-
German MARS III tests Kongsberg NSM
Germany is looking to expand its artillery capability and like other countries is looking to improved costal defence.