"French vehicles in Mali" Topic

Is it just me, or they didn't even have the time to repaint the camo on their vehicles? In any case, a few cool pics on this page.

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All of their yellow ones are in Afghanistan…..and Djibouti.

There has always been both desert end temperate camo vehicles in Africa which makes sense when the equipment is constently shifting from equatorial to sub-sahara climate, often in the same country.

The vast majority of french vehicles in Afghanistan stayed in temperate colours too. IIRC, there were plenty of green Strykers, WMIKs and Scimitars in Afghanistan and Irak. <G>

As for the vehicles, it would be nice to have someone make the ones on the second photo in 15mm (QRFGeoff, IrishSerb ? ;-):
- to the left is a Panhard VPS (special patrol vehilce) which is basically a re-badged Mercedes Wolf, basically the French SF WMIK equivalent
- to the right is an ACMAT VLRA, the workhorse of French forces in Africa since the 1960. Also used by the SAS after their Unimogs got too tired.

My friend, it would be of your possible interest…
"By air and by land, the French military is on the attack in the embattled West African state of Mali. Ten months after the takeover of the country's north by al-Qaida-affiliated Islamic militants, a sudden assault by rebel forces towards the capital of Bamako on Friday provoked a powerful response by France, Mali's former colonial ruler.

French drones scouted targets as warplanes dropped bombs and helicopter gunships launched missiles. Tanker planes supported the aerial armada while rented and borrowed airlifters hauled in troops and armored vehicles to Bamako. On Wednesday French and Malian ground forces headed north from the capital to do battle with the militants.

"The real question is, now what?" said Army Gen. Carter Ham, commander of U.S. Africa Command. The Pentagon is considering adding it own drones and support forces to the French "Operation Serval," but U.S. leaders are understandably reluctant given the tenacity of rebel resistance and the potential for a drawn-out conflict.

What follows are the 10 most important weapons of the fighting so far in Mali. Most of them are French, although Paris' allies and one private company have also contributed hardware. If the war drags on much longer and the U.S. gets involved, the major weaponry of the Mali war could start looking a lot more familiar to American audiences…

…France's answer to the ubiquitous U.S. Humvee is the Vehicule Blinde Leger, or "light armored vehicle," a four-ton truck with a 95-horsepower engine and enough space to squeeze in four people. Easily transportable by most medium transport planes, the VBL can be fitted with a machine gun, grenade launcher or anti-tank missile. While not as well-protected as a heavier armored vehicle, the VBL is simple, fast and flexible -- good qualities for speedy deployments to remote, rugged battlefields. In Mali, French troops were photographed riding into battle in a host of tricked-out VBLs.
To keep the force light and mobile, France apparently has not deployed tanks or heavy artillery to Mali. If the ground troops get into a tight spot, they can call on the ERC-90 armored All-Terrain Vehicle and its 90-millimeter cannon. The eight-ton ERC is probably just powerful enough to defeat most rebel defenses. But one French government source expressed surprise at the fighting ability of the insurgents. "What has struck us markedly is how modern their equipment is and their ability to use it," the source said. If the Islamists prove a tougher foe than expected, the ERC-90 might be inadequate. But deploying tanks and artillery would signal a much bigger and potentially bloodier fight than Paris is likely to want."
See full article with pics here.
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Hope you enjoy!.

Amicalement
Armand

Thanks, Armand!

Yes, thanks Armand. VBL and Erc-90 both seem suitable given the terrain but one wonders about the armor for both given the scores of RPGs they are likely to be facing.

looks like my 20mm french marines army/collection
you will probably see the vehicles in all sorts of colours in mali.

Just goes to remind you how far behind most Euro armies are, compared to the US forces.

According to this, 35 hostages dead, 7 survived:
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Glad to be a little usefull for you my friends! (big smile).

Amicalement
Armand

I asked myself the same question about this camo colour.

This evening the French TV news showed a French column on a road, the first vehicle had a large sand-couloured cloth tied to its front!

So is there anyone that makes a VBL or VBA or an ERC-90?

I think there's my response force for my AK-47 contribution to OFM-land.

Eric

@epturner

What scale ? All three are available in 15mm : VAB from QRF, VBL and ERC-90 Sagaie from IrishSerb

The WMIK looking soft skin is a Peugeot P4 not I believe a Panhard .

Most of the vehicles are deployed from Ivory Coast, where the climate is more equatorial (warm and rainy)and where forest and dense vegetation is not unusual. It can explain the green camo not very suited to malian battlefield.

Peugeot P4 is also available from IrishSerb.

Interesting video here: link

Plenty more videos of vehicles and aircraft on the original Youtube channel : YouTube link

Well, rooting for the French in this one, though I hope they have better luck in future hostage situations.

Hey, don't look at me like that. I have a healthy respect for the French fighting man. I just have very little respect for politicians (of any nationality).

all of the current vehicles are available in 20mm from
s&s models.

Great scenarios for my multi-cam.French forces,VAB 's, VBL's,P4's,Wolf's & Acmat's……..Heller and S&S kits, even get my generic West African Army in to assist under the auspices of the mighty UN….."cough"…checking my helo fleet for Gazelles and Caracals. (well one or two of each anyway!)
If you drive a green vehicle about in the desert it soons adopts a local tint with the dust any way…….

The French soldier has a good track record, through the centuries, the French High command less so. Just reading 'The Last Valley', dumb command decisions but tough as nails soldiers who repeatedly counter-attacked forces far larger, and often won. Not that it did them any good, hope that dynamic is not repeated in Mali, though I have a feeling it will be Whack a mole time.

The WMIK-looking vehicle is indeed a Panhard VPS rather than a P4. Pretty different beasts although they are both based on the same Mercedes vehicle so I guess the Irishserb P4 could serve as a conversion basis.

Here is a video showing both the P4 PATSAS and the VPS : bcove.me/z0kcgu4n

This evening the French TV news showed a French column on a road, the first vehicle had a large sand-couloured cloth tied to its front!

This video is online for one week:
france2.fr/jt/20h
click on "JEU 17" (for Thursday 17)
you can see the car with its sand-coloured front cloth at 17:00
(two minutes before this you can see aircraft and helicopters; and later, air pictures of hidden Islamist vehicles)

As far as vehicle camo needs go, maybe it's time for a washtub, dirty water, and local dirt. Or is that too low tech and effective?

The hostage things were in Algeria (run by the Algerine military) and Somalia (French here).

The large deployment of French military for regular warfighting is in Mali.
-Kle.

If that article is true about the hostges in Algeria it is very tragic … But as far as Somalia and Mali, I think the French can handle it with minimal US support and certainly no combat troops on the ground save for some security for US aircraft and such. I believe some US aircraft and intel assets have already been used … And the militia/rebels/terrorists are AQ affilated. So Vive le' France ! And as far as low tech camo, after driving around a week or so in the desert, most of everything is covered fine gritty dust … But not as effective as a good camo paint job. Of course not all of the region is desert …

The Russian Times article really bothers me…any reaction to islamist extremist behaviour will lead to escalation on world wide scene.Sounds like a cancer,nuke the cancer and be done.

Ansar Dine vehicles rather than French ones here but the uniformity of brand new pickup trucks is striking. Looks like they opened an account with a Toyota dealership… Or raided one…

Now that's a target for a CBU or an A-10 gun run! WarpSpeed, obviously the only people who can tackle the Islamists are the Russians. Their restrained and highy targeted methods, as in Grozny, descalate tension and allow for greater understanding between East and West!

That's just the North Mali Toyota Owners Club 2013 rally…..

Sort a car And gun show at the same time …

Looks like French have made some moderate gains:
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All those new Toyotas, must've raided a dealership (or found out when the new shipment was arriving in the port and "re-directed" the delivery).

Go Frenchies! I'll buy the first round when you get back to 'civilization'

Vive le' France !!!!!!

For those who are looking for vehicles photos :

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…and the picture that we certainly didn't need:

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French HQ says this guy could have some problems with his superior officers soon.

Being really dumb here but why would he get into trouble? Is it particularly offensive to Malians? If so I understand. Is it too American, and not in line with Gallic sophistication? I personally find people hacking off limbs on a whim offensive, but then that's me.

Reminds me a bit about the 'outrage', in certain circles, about Prince Harry's recent comments.

Oh I like it ! Good psyops ! I've seen US Spec Operators with learing skull faces painted on their Kevlar Face Protectors/masks … Never underestimate the power of fear on some superstitious cultures, especially in that region. On the other hand, the troop is may just be ing around … Grunts from most countries have a bit of a predilection for "dark" humor …