Non-Subscriber Extract
Eurosatory 2008: Nexter reveals new vehicle and remote turret
By Peter Felstead
17 June 2008
France's Nexter unveiled two new systems at Eurosatory: the Aravis multimission protected vehicle and a new 20 mm-armed remote-controlled weapon station called the ARX 20.
Nexter claims that the Aravis, which is based on a Unimog U5000 chassis, is the most protected multimission vehicle of its category. The programme manager for the Aravis, Emmanuel Fron, told Jane's that the vehicle had been designed from the start to protect against improvised explosive devices (IEDs) against the backdrop of international peacekeeping operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"The protection is four, four, four, four," said Fron, referring to the protection levels of the Aravis: the vehicle conforms to NATO STANAG 4569 Level 4 for ballistic protection (resistance to attack by 14.5 mm machine gun fire), mine protection (able to withstand attack by a 10 kg mine under the belly or wheel) and artillery protection (able to protect against fragments from 155 mm artillery bursts).
The ARX 20 remote-controlled weapon station has been designed to increase an armoured vehicle's deterrent or actual firepower. "We noticed that forces wanted something more powerful than a .50 cal [machine gun]," explained Pierre Clouvel, Nexter's executive vice-president for equipment. "For example, we received orders recently for the P20 [a Nexter 20 mm-armed manned weapon mount] to be mounted on the Otokar Cobra [armoured personnel carrier]."