On January 12, the French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu spoke by telephone with his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksii Reznikov. This conversation follows Sébastien Lecornu’s trip to Kyiv on December 28 and the telephone conversation of the President of the Republic with President Zelenskyy on January 4. The Minister of the Armed Forces reaffirmed France’s unwavering support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. He also reiterated condemnation of Russian bombing campaigns targeting Ukrainian civilian infrastructure. The two ministers discussed the implementation of the military aid provided by France to Ukraine.
The ministers agreed that the delivery of the French-made wheeled tank destroyers, AMX10-RC, the principle of which was decided during the meeting between President Macron and President Zelenskyy on January 4, would take place within two months. They also acted on the rapid organisation of training for Ukrainian soldiers in the use of these tanks. The ministers finally made a progress report on the use of the special fund of 200 million Euros set up by France to enable Ukraine to provide itself with defence equipment. Minister Reznikov also praised the quality of the Crotale air defence systems recently delivered by France and used to protect Kyiv.
The AMX-10 RC is a French armoured fighting vehicle manufactured by Nexter Systems for tank destroyer purposes. Equipping French cavalry units since 1981, over 240 remained in service with the French Army in 2021. 108 units were sold to Morocco and 12 to Qatar. “RC” stands for “Roues-Canon”, meaning “wheeled gun”. The vehicle can be described as a wheeled tank destroyer or light tank, being referred to as a “char”, which is the French word for tank, in French service. The AMX-10 RC is usually used for reconnaissance missions in dangerous environments or for fire support. Since 2021, France has been gradually replacing it with the EBRC Jaguar.
The AMX-10 RC is fitted with a 105/47 F2 MECA 105 mm medium-pressure gun mounted in a GIAT Industries TK 105 three-man turret. The F2 cannon fires 105×527R proprietary ammunition. The APFSDS, which uses the penetrator from the GIAT OFL 90 F1 mm APFSDS round, is capable of defeating a NATO single heavy tank target at a range of 1,200 metres and the NATO triple heavy tank target at a range of 2,200 metres. An ANF1 7.62 mm machine gun is mounted coaxially to the main armament. Two electrically operated smoke grenade launchers are mounted on each side of the turret. 38 main-gun rounds, 4,000 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition, and 16 smoke grenades are carried.
