The Bastion Patsas (PATrouille SAS) is a armoured personnel carrier and designed by the French Defence manufacturer ACMAT (now a subdivision of ARQUUS) to answer to the new requirements of Special Forces and reconnaissance units. The Patsas is specifically designed to meet the high levels of mobility, armour protection, payload and survivability in the most extreme driving conditions. The Bastion Patsas can be carried internally by helicopters for deployment on reconnaissance, direct action and logistics missions. The Bastion Patsas has already been tested by French Special forces, and selected by various Special Forces worldwide. The Bastion Patsas provide the next generation of Special Forces vehicle with high mobility, protection and fire power.
The Bastion Patsas is intended to meet the requirements of armed forces in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. It is equipped to withstand extreme weather conditions in the Middle East and Africa and deliver high performance during day/night operations. Burkina Faso deployed its Bastions in peacekeeping operations and used in internal security missions. The Republic of Chad purchased 22 Bastion PATSAS vehicles in October 201, Chad took delivery of the first batch trucks in February 2013. The Chadian détachement d’action rapide (rapid action detachment) used Bastion Patsas during the 2013 intervention in Mali. Some of the Saudi Arabian Bastion Patsas were reportedly used in the intervention in Yemen, 71 Bastion Patsas received in 2016.
The Bastion Patsas is open-top vehicle for the crew and the troops compartment, this special feature allows the deployment of heavy weapon and missile platforms, the fitting of reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition systems as well as performing check-point missions and any special operations. The Bastion Patsas is equipped with 360° ring-mounted at the rear of the crew cab which can be armed with a 12.7 mm machine or 40mm automatic grenade launcher. A single swivel weapon station for 5.56 mm machine gun is available at the front of the vehicle for the commander and two at the rear. A bank of grenade launchers can be fitted to each side of the hull. Various types of weapon can be carried on the rear cargo area as anti-tank weapons. For crew protection, the Bastion Patsas uses a monocoque armored body shell made in high hardness armoured steel which provides a ballistic protection Level 1 to Level 3 STANAG 4569 and anti-mine protection Level 2 STANAG 4569. The rear part of the hull has a single door which opens to the left.
Its chassis, which originates from the VLRA 4×4, combines tactical mobility, robustness and simplified maintenance. The layout of the Bastion Patsas is conventional with the engine at the front, cab crew in the centre and troops compartment at the rear. On the front of the crew seats, there are two bullet-proof windows that can fold forward of bonnet engine. The troop’s compartment has three fold-down seats with safety belts, one for the gunner on the left side of the hull, and two at the rear. The Bastion Patsas is based on the VLRA 2 4×4 light tactical truck. The Bastion Patsas is motorized with a 5-litre Volvo MD5 4-cylinder turbocharged and intercooled diesel which develops 215 hp at 2,300 rpm coupled to a ZF automatic gearbox with five forward and one reverse gears and a two-speed transfer box. The Bastion Patsas In option, the vehicle can be equipped with a six speed gearbox. A spare wheel is mounted to each side of the hull. Standard equipment includes a central tyre-inflation system, external shields for the tyres. The vehicle is fitted with four Michelin 365/80R 20 XZL tyres. In option, the Bastion Patsas can be equipped with 6,800 kg self-recovery winch mounted at the front of the chassis.It can ford to a water depth of 1m. It is air transportable by C130, C160, A400M, and CH47 military transport aircraft.
