France: DGA orders 530 Serval Appui Scorpion armoured vehicles
Paris, February 8, 2025 – On December 31, 2024, the French Armament Directorate (DGA) ordered 530 Serval Appui SCORPION armoured vehicles for the French Army. Deliveries of these vehicles will be staggered from the end of 2025 to 2031.
Adapted to high-intensity conflicts, the Serval Appui SCORPION inherits the performance and military qualities of the Serval armoured vehicle developed within the SCORPION programme (a programme in which 97 additional Serval vehicles are acquired under the same order as the 530 Serval Appui SCORPION armoured vehicles).
Worth over one billion Euros, this order mainly supports the activities of KNDS France (Satory, Bourges and Roanne sites) but also TEXELIS (Limoges site), MBDA (Plessis Robinson and Bourges sites) and CS GROUP (Plessis Robinson and Toulon sites) defence companies.
The investment is made as part of the Multipurpose Light Tactical Vehicle (VLTP) program. It is also supported by the Surface Air Low Layer Defence and Anti-Drone Warfare programmes, which are responsible for the acquisition of the Ground-to-Air Defence and Anti-Drone Warfare systems respectively.
In accordance with the 2024-2030 military programming law (LPM), the order for 530 Serval Appui SCORPION fits into a complex and hardened environment, with the armouring and integration into the SCORPION environment of Army units intended for command, support and sustainment, operating in the contact zone, within the Joint Brigade and the division.
The Serval has a high level of performance in terms of mobility, protection, autonomy, and a remarkable projection capacity. Its modularity is complemented by the integration of new high value added functions.
The Serval Appui SCORPION will thus enable land forces to modernise capabilities aging or absent for several years, such as:
- ground-to-air defence. with the development and production of a version of the Serval equipped with a turret allowing the firing of Mistral 3 ground-to-air missiles under armour;
- anti-drone warfare , with the development and production of a version of Serval carrying a radar, a radio frequency detection system, a fire control system, a 30×113 mm cannon mounted on a turret and specialised munitions;
- and finally tactical communication node with the production of a version equipped with SYRACUSE IV satellite, radio or service communication capabilities.
The order for the 530 Serval Appui SCORPION corresponds to stage 3 of the VLTP programme. Stage 1 has already enabled the delivery of 4,380 VT4s and Stage 2 the order of 103 unprotected medical vehicles.
Source French DGA
Unofficial translation by EDR On-Line
Photo courtesy French Army
