France Continues Production of Bastion Armored Vehicles for Ukraine

24 May, 2024 Bastion armored personnel carrier. Photo credits: Arquus France has confirmed the current plans for the production of armored vehicles Bastion for Ukraine.

This was reported by Forces Operations Blog. Emmanuel Levacher, Arquus CEO, confirmed that the company is currently manufacturing 11 Bastion series armored vehicles. He also mentioned the possibility of an additional order for Ukraine consisting of 100 armored vehicles.

Bastion armored vehicle from the ACMAT company

Plans to supply 11 Bastion armored vehicles to Ukraine were announced in April 2023. Since then, the implementation of this order has been frozen in place.

For their justification, representatives of the company reported that these armored vehicles were not transferred to Ukraine due to the absence of a specific French-Ukrainian agreement. At the same time, they reported the allocation of a certain number of armored vehicles of this type to Armenia, which caused outrage among some representatives of the French government. Currently, according to the Forces Operations Blog, armored vehicles that were prepared for Armenia have been recalled, and now they are being compiled for Ukraine.

According to the plan, they should be transferred in July 2024. Company representatives noted that if Ukraine expresses a desire, then they are able to additionally produce up to a hundred additional Bastion machines.

Previously, Militarnyi reported that France, as part of a new military assistance package, would allocate hundreds of armored vehicles to Ukraine, which were withdrawn from the French army.

According to the minister, the VAB APC is old equipment, but it is usable and will be able to benefit Ukraine.

The French defense minister added that hundreds of vehicles will arrive in Ukraine in 2024 and early 2025.