On May 8, 2024, Luxembourg’s Minister of Defence, Yuriko Backes, and the Chief of Defence Staff, General Steve Thull announced a historic €2.6 billion investment, the largest in its history, to modernize its armed forces. The government of Luxembourg, following discussions with the Defence Commission of the Chamber of Deputies unveiled the new defense bill that will see the acquisition of a fleet of advanced armored vehicles including 16 VBMR Griffon multi-role armoured vehicles, 38 EBRC Jaguar armored reconnaissance and combat vehicles, 5 VBMR-L Serval light multi-role armoured vehicles (VBMR-L), as well as numerous support and logistics vehicles, such as armored recovery vehicles and multi-logistic support trucks.
The wheeled armored vehicles fleet will enhance the Belgian-Luxembourgian Army’s operational capabilities and ensure interoperability with NATO and European Union forces, particularly those of Belgium and France. Luxembourgish is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. The language is a standardized language and officially the ‘national language’ of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. This initiative is crucial for Luxembourg to maintain its contributions to NATO and the EU’s collective defense efforts in an increasingly complex global security environment. The vehicles, similar to those currently used by the Belgian army, will ensure interoperability with Belgian and French forces, simplifying logistics and support.
The VBMR Griffon ( Véhicule Blindé Multi-Rôle, Multirole Armoured Vehicle Griffon) is a French six-wheel multi-purpose armoured personnel carrier developed and manufactured by Nexter, Arquus (formerly Renault Trucks Defense) and Thales. The vehicle entered service in 2019 and is, alongside the four-wheel VBMR-L Serval co-developed by Nexter and Texelis, the successor of the Véhicule de l’Avant Blindé (VAB). Components of the French SCORPION programme, the two vehicles are expected to fulfill a wide range of tasks and thus consist of several variants and subvariants. In total, 1,818 VBMR Griffon, 2,038 VBMR-L Serval, 54 Griffon MEPAC as well as at least 85 Serval LAD and Serval Mistral/TCP are to be delivered to the French Army by 2035.
The EBRC Jaguar (Engin Blindé de Reconnaissance et de Combat, Armoured Reconnaissance and Combat Vehicle Jaguar) or is a six-wheel armoured fighting vehicle developed and manufactured by Nexter, Arquus (formerly Renault Trucks Defense) and Thales. Intended to succeed three reconnaissance and/or fire support vehicles in French service, namely the AMX-10 RC, ERC 90 Sagaie and VAB HOT, the vehicle entered service in 2022 after twelve years of development. The Griffon to share 70% of its components with the Jaguar to save on development, production and maintenance costs as well as to facilitate logistics. 238 units are expected to be delivered to the French Army by 2030 and all 300 vehicles planned by 2035.
