The hand-over ceremony was held at Section Technique de l’Armée de Terre/ French Land Armed Forces (STAT) Headquarters. The contract was awarded in 2010 by the Division of General Armaments (DGA) of the French Ministry of Defence.
The 8x8 special high-mobility vehicles provided to the French Army offer exceptional off-road mobility and a fording capability which enables them to provide logistic support to any military operation in the most hostile environmental conditions.
Logistic vehicles will be supplied with a hook-lift body for load-handling operations, whereas recovery vehicles will be supplied with a lifting boom and a crane for recovering military vehicles. All vehicles will feature an armoured cab and will ensure maximum crew protection with excellent operational flexibility and carrying capacity. Project delivery will include maintenance and the supply of spare parts.
The body, chassis equipment, demountable rack offloading and pick up system (DROPS), logistic trailers and special ADR EX II containers will be manufactured and assembled in France by Soframe, part of the Alsatian Lohr Group.
This important supply contract, which consolidates Iveco Defence Vehicles’ and Sofreame’s European market leadership in the military sector, provides a response to the current and anticipated requirements of the French armed forces in terms of logistic support and crew protection.
Iveco, a Fiat Industrial company, designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of light, medium and heavy commercial vehicles, off-road trucks, city and intercity buses and coaches as well as special vehicles for applications such as firefighting, off-road missions, defence and civil protection. Iveco manages production sites in 11 countries throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania and Latin America where it produces vehicles featuring the latest advanced technologies. 5,000 sales and service outlets in over 160 countries guarantee technical support wherever an Iveco vehicle is at work. Within Iveco, Iveco Defence Vehicles is dedicated to delivering innovative automotive and protection solutions to meet the needs of military customers worldwide. The company offers a full range of military logistic, protected and armoured vehicles.
Soframe, a Lohr SA company, designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of military vehicles - light wheeled armoured vehicles, air transportable rough terrain vehicles, anti-riot armoured vans and folding roadway system, as well as a broad range of logistic trailers and tank transporters. With a high technology R&D centre, Soframe participates in special projects in collaboration with missile forces and companies specialised in defence electronic systems.
Photo Credit: © Section Technique de l’Armée de Terre
