This Armored Vehicle is Making the US Green with Envy

After more than 40 years of battle-tested use, the French Army is ready to let go of its aging fleet of Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé or VAB with a more powerful armored personnel carrier: the Griffon VBMR.

This 6x6 wheeled armored vehicle is about to become the new troop transport vehicle of the French military. Fitted with a 400-horsepower Renault engine and a 400-liters tank, the Griffon has an autonomy of over 800 kilometers and can reach speeds of more than 90 kilometers per hour.

It can easily traverse the harshest terrains, such as jungles and rocky terrain. The 24.5-tons APC can swiftly deliver up to eight soldiers in the heat of battle under cover of a hull resistant to heavy machine guns, artillery rounds, and nuclear material.

While in a combat zone, the Griffon can provide cover to its troops, with an arsenal of heavy machine guns to deter hostile enemy forces employing small arms, and even keep armored vehicles at bay when equipped with anti-tank guided missiles and smoke grenades, to attack, relocate, and destroy enemy armor from different positions.