View source for Panhard AML

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox weapon
| name               = Panhard AML-245
| image              = Panhard AML-90 img 2308.jpg
| image_size         = 300
| caption            = Panhard AML at the ''[[Musée des Blindés]]'', [[Saumur]].
| origin             = [[France]]
| type               = [[Armored car (military)|Armored car]]
| is_vehicle         = yes
| service            = 
| used_by            = See ''[[#Operators|Operators]]''
| wars               = {{Collapsible list
| bullets = yes
| title = List of Conflicts
| [[Algerian War]]
| [[Portuguese Colonial War]]
| [[Six-Day War]]
| [[War of Attrition]]
| [[Angolan Civil War]]
| [[Cambodian Civil War]]
| [[Yom Kippur War]]
| [[Falklands War]]
| [[Lebanese Civil War]]
| [[Shaba II]]
| [[Ethiopian Civil War]]
| [[Eritrean War of Independence]]
| [[Salvadoran Civil War]]
| [[Western Sahara War]]
| [[Chadian–Libyan conflict]]
| [[Somali Civil War]]
| [[Iran–Iraq War]]
| [[Gulf War]]
| [[Djiboutian Civil War]]
| [[Rwandan Civil War]]
| [[First Congo War]]
| [[Second Congo War]]
| [[2003 invasion of Iraq]]
| [[Second Sudanese Civil War]]
| [[Djiboutian–Eritrean border conflict]]
| [[2004 French–Ivorian clashes]]
| [[First Ivorian Civil War]]
| [[Second Ivorian Civil War]]
| [[2007 Lebanon conflict]]
| [[Internal conflict in Burma]]
| [[Operation Linda Nchi]]
| [[Yemeni Crisis (2011–present)]]
| [[Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon]]
}}
 <!-- Production history -->| designer           = 
| design_date        = 1959<ref name="Defence">Defence Update (International), 1984, Volume 1 Issue 48–58 p. 8.</ref>
| manufacturer       = [[Panhard]]
| unit_cost          = 
| production_date    = 1960–1987<ref name=DTIC1>{{cite web|url=http://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a262562.pdf |title=Mobile firepower for contingency operations: Emerging concepts for US light armour forces |publisher=Defense Technical Information Center |date=1993-01-04 |access-date=2015-08-18 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022030959/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a262562.pdf |archive-date=October 22, 2014 }}</ref>
| number             = 4,812<ref name=WMW>{{cite book|last1=Cullen|first1=Tony|last2=Drury|first2=Ian|last3=Bishop|first3=Chris|title=The Encyclopedia of World Military Weapons|edition=1988|pages=68–70|publisher=Crescent Publications|location=Greenville|isbn=978-0-517-65341-8|year=1988}}</ref><ref name=Collet>{{cite book|last=Collet|first=Andre|title=  Armements: mutation, réglementation, production, commerce|date=1989|page=55|publisher=Économica|location=Paris|isbn=978-2717816808}}</ref>
| variants           = See ''[[#Variants|Variants]]''
 <!-- General specifications -->| weight             = {{convert|5.5|t|ST LT|lk=out}}<ref name="Jane1">{{cite book|last=Christopher F. Foss|title=Jane's Tanks and Combat Vehicles Recognition Guide|edition=2000|page=[https://archive.org/details/janestankcombatv00foss/page/252 252]|publisher=Harper Collins Publishers|isbn=978-0-00-472452-2|date=2000-05-16|url=https://archive.org/details/janestankcombatv00foss/page/252}}</ref>
| length             = {{convert|5.11|m|ftin|abbr=on}}<ref name="Jane2">{{cite book |last=Christopher F. Foss |title=Jane's World Armoured Fighting Vehicles|url=https://archive.org/details/janesworldarmour00foss_271 |url-access=limited |edition=1976|page=[https://archive.org/details/janesworldarmour00foss_271/page/n134 132-133] |publisher=Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd|isbn=978-0-354-01022-1|year=1976}}</ref>
| part_length        = {{convert|3.79|m|ftin|abbr=on}} <small>''(hull)''</small><ref name="Jane2" />
| width              = {{convert|1.97|m|ftin|abbr=on}}<ref name="Jane2" />
| height             = {{convert|2.07|m|ftin|abbr=on}}<ref name="Jane1" />
| crew               = 3 (commander, driver, gunner)<ref name="Jane2" />
 <!-- Vehicle/missile specifications -->| armour             = 
| primary_armament   = 90&nbsp;mm D921/[[Nexter|GIAT]] F1 (20 rounds)<br />60mm [[Brandt Mle CM60A1|Brandt mortar]] (53 rounds)<ref name="Jane2" />
| secondary_armament = 7.62 mm [[AA-52 machine gun|MAS]] coaxial machine gun (2,400–3,800 rounds)<ref name="Jane2" />
| engine             = [[Panhard]] {{convert|1.99|L|in3|abbr=on}} Model 4 HD [[Flat-four engine|flat 4]]-cylinder air-cooled petrol<ref name="AFV39">Ogorkiewicz, R. M. ''AFV Weapons Profile 039 Panhard Armoured Cars'' (Windsor, Berks:  Profile Publications).</ref>
| engine_power       = 90 hp (67&nbsp;kW) at 4,700&nbsp;rpm<ref name="Jane1" />
| transmission       = 
| fuel_capacity      = {{convert|156|L|gal|abbr=on}}
| pw_ratio           = 16.36&nbsp;hp/tonne (11.9&nbsp;kW/tonne)<ref name="Jane1" />
| suspension         = Wheeled [[4x4]]
| clearance          = {{convert|0.33|m|ftin|abbr=on}}<ref name="Jane1" />
| vehicle_range      = {{convert|600|km|mi|abbr=on}}<ref name="Jane2" />
| speed              = {{convert|100|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}<ref name="Jane2" />
}}

The '''Panhard AML''' (''automitrailleuse légère'', or "light armoured car")<ref name=WMW /> is an [[Armored car (military)|armoured car]] with [[reconnaissance]] capability.<ref name="Miller">{{cite book|last=David Miller|title=Conflict Iraq: Weapons and Tactics of the US and Iraqi Forces|edition=2003|page=[https://archive.org/details/conflictiraqweap0000mill/page/88 88]|publisher=Salamander Books, Ltd|isbn=978-0-7603-1592-7|date=2003-02-10|url=https://archive.org/details/conflictiraqweap0000mill/page/88}}</ref> Designed by [[Panhard]] on a lightly armoured [[Four-wheel drive|4×4]] chassis, it weighs an estimated 5.5 tonnes, and is thus suitable for airborne deployment.<ref name="Jordan">{{cite book |last=David Jordan|title=The History of the French Foreign Legion: From 1831 to Present Day|edition=2005|pages=181–185 |publisher=Amber Books Ltd|isbn=978-1-59228-768-0|year=2005}}</ref> Since 1959, AMLs have been marketed on up to five continents; several variants remained in continuous production for half a century.<ref name="Henk">{{cite book |first=Daniel |last=Henk|title=South Africa's armaments industry: continuity and change after a decade of majority rule|year=2006|edition=2006|page=164 |publisher=University Press America|isbn=978-0-7618-3482-3}}</ref> These have been operated by fifty-four national governments and other entities worldwide, seeing regular combat.<ref>''Based on adding together all operators in the map and those listed below.''</ref>

The AML-245 was once regarded as one of the most heavily armed scout vehicles in service, fitted with a low velocity [[Nexter|DEFA]] D921 90&nbsp;mm (3.54&nbsp;in) rifled cannon firing conventional [[Shell (projectile)#HE-Frag|high explosive]] and [[High-explosive anti-tank warhead|high explosive anti-tank]] shells, or a 60&nbsp;mm (2.36&nbsp;in) [[Brandt Mle CM60A1|breech loading mortar]] with 53 rounds and dual 7.5mm [[AA-52 machine gun|MAS AA-52 NF-1]] machine guns with 3,800 rounds, all mounted coaxially in the turret.<ref name="Jordan" /> An AML is capable of destroying targets at 1,500 meters with its D921 main gun. In this configuration it is considered a match for second-line and older [[main battle tank]]s.<ref name="Tanks">{{cite book |last=Christopher F. Foss|title=The illustrated encyclopedia of the world's tanks and fighting vehicles: a technical directory of major combat vehicles from World War I to the present day|year=1977|edition=1977|page=93 |publisher=Chartwell Books|isbn=978-0-89009-145-6}}</ref><ref name="Angola">{{cite book |author1=Tokarev, Andrei |author2=Shubin, Gennady |title=Bush War: The Road to Cuito Cuanavale: Soviet Soldiers' Accounts of the Angolan War|edition=2011|pages=128–130 |publisher=Jacana Media (Pty) Ltd|isbn=978-1-4314-0185-7|year=2011 }}</ref>

AMLs have appeared most prominently in [[Angola]], [[Iraq]], and [[Chad]], as well as in the [[Lebanese Civil War]] between 1975 and 1990.

==History==
During [[World War II]], the [[French Army]] and their [[Free France|Free French]] successors used a wide variety of vehicles for reconnaissance duties, ranging from the compact ''[[Laffly S15]]'' to the ''[[Panhard 178]]'', which could mount the same 75&nbsp;mm armament as contemporary heavy tanks, and multi-wheeled designs such as the ''Type 201''.<ref name="AFV39" /> After the war it became less desirable to maintain this plethora of armoured cars. In July 1945 Paris issued a requirement for a postwar design combining those features of previous assets – especially the Type 201 – that had shown potential both during and prior to the [[Battle of France]]. This led to the 8x8 [[Panhard EBR]] (''Type 212'') which entered service in 1950.<ref name="Machine">Morse, Stan. ''Modern Light Tanks and Reconnaissance Vehicles''. War Machine, 1983, Volume 2 Issue 19 p. 373–374.</ref> Similarly, in 1956 the French Ministry of Defense was persuaded to commission a replacement for the [[Ferret armoured car|Daimler Ferret]] scout car.<ref name=WMW /> Also manufactured by Panhard, the successor was the AML (''Type 245'') which entered service in 1961.<ref name="Ogorkiewicz2">{{cite book |last=Ogorkiewicz, R. M.|title=Design and development of fighting vehicles|edition=1968|page=181 |publisher=Macdonald Publishers|isbn=978-0-356-01461-6|year=1968}}</ref>

As with much postwar hardware based on the experience of subsequent colonial theatres, the AML was recognized for its outstanding ruggedness, dependability, firepower-to-weight ratio, and adaptability to the numerous minor conflicts waged since 1945.<ref name="AFV39" /> This reputation has led to export success in over forty countries, [[Africa]] being one of its biggest markets.<ref name="Machine" />

===Development===
[[File:AML counterguerrilla vehicle.png|thumb|left|An early AML-60.]]

The Panhard AML was birthed as a private venture by the ''[[Panhard|Société de Constructions Panhard et Levassor]]'', a military subsidiary of [[PSA Peugeot Citroën]]. It was derived in part from the [[Ferret armoured car|Daimler Ferret]], offering important similarities in external design. The first prototype appeared in 1959 and the vehicle was put into production in 1960, with more than 4,000 examples constructed by the time production ended.

In the late 1950s, the [[French Army]] successfully operated a number of Ferret scout cars in [[Algeria]]. Impressive as they were from a conventional standpoint, the rest of France's existing light armour—such as the [[Panhard EBR]] and [[M8 Greyhound]]—were not suitably equipped for [[counter-insurgency]]; battles of the [[Algerian War]] often involved short, sharp, skirmishes which required indirect fire support weapons such as [[Mortar (weapon)|mortars]] rather than solid shot and shell.<ref name="Orange">{{cite web|url=http://histoire-militaire.pagesperso-orange.fr/infanterie/autopanhard.htm|title=L'AUTOMITRAILLEUSE LEGERE PANHARD|access-date=15 November 2014}}</ref> In addition, the North African conditions demanded a lighter, less sophisticated, vehicle which would be simpler to maintain and operate. As an interim measure France had purchased two hundred Ferrets from the [[United Kingdom]].<ref name="Knox1">{{cite journal |last=Henry |first=Michel |title=French Armor in Algeria |journal=[[Armor magazine]] |pages=12–15 |publisher=US Army Armor Center |location=Fort Knox, Kentucky |date=July–December 1972}}</ref> These were light enough but carried only a single [[general-purpose machine gun]], which was inadequate for offensive purposes. Nevertheless, they were sufficiently successful that there was a possibility of producing the Ferret under licence in France. However, [[Saviem]], [[Berliet]], and Panhard petitioned for bidding on a home-grown vehicle, and in 1956 the [[Ministry of Defence (France)|Ministère de la Défense]] issued specifications for an indigenous wheeled armoured car of similar dimensions and layout to the Ferret but mounting a breech-loading mortar.<ref name=WMW /> By 1959, this had emerged as the ''Auto Mitrailleuse Légère'', designated Model 245 "B" by Panhard.<ref name="Update">''[https://books.google.com/books?id=3RgxAQAAIAAJ&q=Damiya Defence Update (International)]''. Defence Update G.m.b.H., 1984, 1984–85 Volume Collected Issues 48–58.</ref> Early prototypes were completed in mid-1959 and by the end of 1961 at least one regiment in Algeria was receiving them.<ref name="Knox1" /> The AML was equipped with a [[Brandt Mle CM60A1|60mm Brandt gun-mortar]] and two medium [[AA-52 machine gun|MAS AA-52 NF-1]] machine guns.<ref name="AFV39" /> Until Panhard's acquisition by [[Citroën]] later in the 1960s, it was manufactured at a single plant near the Porte de Choisy in the [[13th arrondissement of Paris]].<ref name=Linhart>{{cite book|last=Linhart|first=Robert|title=The Assembly Line|date=1981|orig-year=1978|pages=107–108|publisher=University of Massachusetts Press|location=Amherest|isbn=978-0-87023-322-7}}</ref>

The AML was immediately successful, but as the Algerian conflict diminished so did the need for a light mortar carrier deployed in anti-guerrilla operations. A more primary concern was the conventional threat posed by [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] airborne armoured vehicles such as the [[ASU-85]] in the event of a [[Warsaw Pact]] invasion by air, which was then a major concern of French military strategists.<ref name="Arquus">{{cite web|title=Panhard AML 90|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=https://www.arquus-defense.com/fr/panhard-aml-90|location=[[Versailles, Yvelines]]|publisher=Arquus Defense |date=2023|access-date=20 September 2024}}</ref> Meanwhile, [[South Africa]], an AML customer which had considered adopting the British [[Alvis Saladin]], also charged Panhard technicians to look into the development of an AML variant with equal or superior [[fire support]] capability.<ref name="Orange" /><ref name=Harmse>{{cite book|last1=Harmse|first1=Kyle|last2=Dunstan|first2=Simon|title=South African Armour of the Border War 1975–89|date=23 February 2017|pages=5–9|publisher=Osprey Publishing|location=Oxford|isbn=978-1-4728-1743-3}}</ref> This and the adoption of a highly effective 90&nbsp;mm rifled cannon led to all new AML-245 "C"s being refitted with the H-90 turret sporting the new gun.<ref name="Update" /><ref name=Harmse /> It fired fin-stabilised, shaped charge, projectiles boasting a muzzle velocity of 760&nbsp;m/s and more than capable of penetrating 320&nbsp;mm of [[rolled homogeneous armour]].<ref name=WMW /> In consequence, the later AMLs could even engage [[main battle tank]]s.<ref name="Tank">{{cite book |author1=Bruce Quarry |author2=Mike Spick |name-list-style=amp |title=An Illustrated Guide to Tank Busters|edition=1987|pages=120–125 |publisher=Prentice Hall Press|isbn=978-0-13-451154-2|year=1987 }}</ref><ref name=borderstrike /> In addition to its [[High-explosive anti-tank warhead|high explosive anti-tank]] (HEAT) shells the H-90 also carries fin-stabilised [[Shell (projectile)#HE-Frag|high-explosive]] (HE) projectiles, the total number of rounds stored being 20, compared with the 53 of the original 60&nbsp;mm mortar version.<ref name="Jane1" />

To provide a complete family of wheeled armoured cars, Panhard used AML components to engineer a small personnel carrier, the ''Véhicule Transport de Troupes'', better known as the [[Panhard M3]]. The M3 consisted of a boxy, all-welded, hull with an engine relocated behind the driver in order to provide a large troop compartment at its rear. Its wheelbase was also increased from the AML's 2.5m to a higher 2.7m. and the track from 1.62 to 2.5m. In spite of this, maintenance alongside the AML fleet is rather simplified, given that both vehicles share a 95% [[Interchangeable parts|interchangeability]] in automotive parts.<ref name="AFV39" /> The export success of the AML and M3 led directly to the development of the [[ERC 90 Sagaie|Panhard ERC 90 Sagaie]] and [[Panhard VCR]], respectively, which were six-wheeled and could carry a wider range of heavy weapon systems.<ref name="Ayliffe-Jones" />

Mass production of the AML likely ceased at some point prior to the early 1980s.<ref name=borderstrike>{{cite book|last1=Steenkamp|first1=Willem|author-link1=Willem Steenkamp |title=Borderstrike! South Africa into Angola. 1975–1980|year=2006|publisher=Just Done Productions Publishing|location=Durban, South Africa|isbn=978-1-920169-00-8|edition=3rd |url=http://www.justdone.co.za/shop/index.php?id_product=5&controller=product|access-date=29 September 2014|publication-date=1 March 2006|orig-year=1985|pages=29–43|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006150953/http://www.justdone.co.za/shop/index.php?id_product=5&controller=product|archive-date=6 October 2014}}</ref> However, AMLs continued to be sold from French Army surplus stocks as late as 1999, when the final export orders were placed by [[Yemen]] and [[Tunisia]].<ref name="trade">{{cite web |url=http://armstrade.sipri.org/armstrade/page/trade_register.php |title=Trade Registers |publisher=Armstrade.sipri.org |access-date=2013-06-20}}</ref> They were also marketed by a number of other second-hand suppliers, including South Africa, [[Israel]], and [[Saudi Arabia]].<ref name="trade" />

===Specifications===
Fitted with coil spring suspension and drum brakes, the AML lacks hydraulic assist on either brakes or steering; only front wheels steer.<ref name="AFV39" /> Consequently, the steering wheel requires considerable strength to turn while the vehicle is in motion—while stationary it remains effectively locked.<ref name="Mannall">{{cite book |first=David |last=Mannall|title=Battle on the Lomba 1987: The Day a South African Armoured Battalion shattered Angola's Last Mechanized Offensive|edition=2014|pages=48–92 |publisher=Helion and Company|isbn=978-1-909982-02-4|date=2014-11-19}}</ref> Much like the Ferret, rear wheel drive is transmitted directly to epicyclic hub reduction gears, also known as bevel boxes.<ref name="Auto" /> The motor and gearbox have been harnessed via a centrifugal clutch with electromagnetic control, eliminating the need for a clutch pedal.<ref name=Baz>{{cite web|url=http://www.willyshotchkissjeeps.com/diary.asp?id=71 |title=Restoration of the Eland-60 |publisher=French Army Reenactment Group (FARG) |date=2012-01-20 |access-date=2015-07-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721052053/http://www.willyshotchkissjeeps.com/diary.asp?id=71 |archive-date=July 21, 2015 }}</ref> This type of clutch is automatically engaged by gripping the knob of the gearshift lever, which is located behind the driver's seat in the hull floor.<ref name="Auto">''Automotive Industries''. Philadelphia: [[Chilton Company]], 1968, Volume 139 pp. 39—41.</ref> The gearbox assembly consists of two separate gearboxes, one for high and the other for low gear.<ref name="Jane1984AA">{{cite book |last=Christopher F. Foss|title=Jane's Armour and Artillery|date=November 1984|edition=1984|pages=178–183 |publisher=Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd|isbn=978-0-7106-0800-0}}</ref> The low-range gearbox is designed for off-road use and has a reverse gear and a top gear, while the high-range box is for operation on roads and has three low gears and one overdrive.<ref name="JAD">{{cite book |last1=Cullen|first1=Anthony|last2=Foss|first2=Christopher|title=Jane's Land Based Air Defence 1992–93|edition=1992|pages=68–69 |publisher=Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd|isbn=978-0-7106-0595-5|date=July 1991}}</ref> There is a hydraulic dual-circuit handbrake operating on the gearbox output shaft.<ref name="Jane1984AA" />

An AML's crankshaft is carried in three ball bearings to reduce motor friction.<ref name="Auto" /> Powerplant design was inspired by the Panhard EBR and incorporates an air-cooled 1.99 litre four cylinder engine developing 67&nbsp;kW (90&nbsp;hp).<ref name="Compendium">{{cite book |last=Chant |first=Christopher |title=A Compendium of Armaments and Military Hardware |location=New York |publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-7102-0720-3 |oclc=14965544 |pages=158–59 }}</ref> The Panhard engine was somewhat underpowered for the five to six tonne armoured car,<ref name="Copley1">Copley, Greogory. Defense & Foreign Affairs Strategic Policy journal. Alexandria: 1989. Vol.17, Collected Issues; pg. 37</ref> and remained prone to mechanical failure in humid climates.<ref name="Auto-Metralhadoras">{{cite journal|last=Coutinho |first=Pereira |url=http://biblioteca.exercito.pt/download.asp?file=multimedia/associa/imag/revista_cavalaria/3_29.pdf |date=May–August 2012 |title=Exército Português Auto-Metralhadoras |journal=Revista da Cavalaria |volume=3 |issue=27 |pages=6–10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220180543/http://biblioteca.exercito.pt/download.asp?file=multimedia%2Fassocia%2Fimag%2Frevista_cavalaria%2F3_29.pdf |archive-date=December 20, 2014 }}</ref> Under temperate conditions it was capable of providing good operational service up to 26,000 kilometres before needing replacement.<ref name="PAJ">''Pakistan Army Journal''. Inspector General Training and Evaluation Branch, General Headquarters: Pakistani Army, 1986. Volume 27, Collected issues 1-3.</ref> AMLs may also be fitted with a variety of liquid-cooled engines, although as demonstrated by its [[Eland Mk7]] counterpart this requires a costly reconstruction of the rear hull to accommodate the new cooling apparatus.<ref name=Baz />

AML hulls are assembled from only 13 welded pieces, with a driver seated at the front of the hull and the turret to his immediate rear.<ref name="Auto" /> Above both doors the hull widens into a circular flange onto which the turret is bolted.<ref name="Ayliffe-Jones">{{cite book|first=Noel|last=Ayliffe-Jones|title=World tanks and reconnaissance vehicles since 1945|year=1984|edition=1984|pages=[https://archive.org/details/worldtanksreconn0000ayli/page/83 83–85]|publisher=Hippocrene Books|isbn=978-0-88254-978-1|url=https://archive.org/details/worldtanksreconn0000ayli/page/83}}</ref> This makes the turret basket extremely cramped, and little space is available above an AML-90's turret ring due to the massive gun breech and somewhat haphazard ammunition stowage. There are optical ring sights in front of both turret seats for quick laying of the main armament.<ref name="Ayliffe-Jones" /> AML turrets have a two-man crew, with the commander seated on the left and the gunner on the right.<ref name="JAD" /> Depending on the variant, either may operate the roof-mounted searchlight. Seven periscopes are provided for the turret crew and three for the AML's driver.<ref name="Swiss">{{cite journal|last=Perret-Gentil|first=J. |title=Une nouvelle auto-mitrailleuse Panhard (A.M.L. 245)|journal=Revue Militaire Suisse|pages=42–46|publisher=Imprimeries Reunies SA|location=Lausanne|date=September 1961}}</ref> One of the three driving periscopes may be substituted with an infrared or image intensification periscope for night operations.<ref name="JAD" />

On either side of the hull below the turret ring is an access door, one for the driver on the right and one intended for emergency purposes on the left.<ref name="JAD" /> The left hull door, on which a spare wheel and tyre or fuel cans may be mounted, opens to the rear while the right hull door opens to the front. The engine housing at the rear of the hull is accessed through two access panels,<ref name="JAD" /> and is insulated from the crew compartment by a removable bulkhead.<ref name="AVF">{{cite web|title=Panhard armored vehicle|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=http://www.avf.com.sa/prdaction-en07.html|location=Dammam|publisher=Military Industries Corporation (Armoured Vehicles and Heavy Equipment Factory) |date=2010|access-date=20 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141225163955/http://www.avf.com.sa/prdaction-en07.html|archive-date=25 December 2014}}</ref> Two sand channels resembling those on the Ferret are bolted to the hull front for crossing ditches and other obstacles.<ref name="JAD" />

The AML uses nitrogen inner tubes (in this case Hutchinson V.P.-P.V.s) adopted from the EBR, providing [[Run-flat tire|run flat]] capability on 41&nbsp;cm (16 in.)-diameter wheels; its 280&nbsp;mm (11 in.) wide [[Michelin]] tyres can be deflated to reduce ground pressure to as low as {{convert|70|to|110|kPa|psi|abbr=on}}.<ref name="AFV39" /> These have been replaced in some Anglophone armies by the [[Dunlop Tyres|Dunlop]] Trak Grips also favoured in [[Bedford Vehicles|Bedford]] and [[Alvis Car and Engineering Company|Alvis]] military vehicles.<ref name="Auto" />

==Service history==
===Europe===
====France====
[[File:SATORY 9 JANVIER 2014 094.jpg|thumb|Panhard AML-60, one of several which entered service with the French [[Mobile Gendarmerie]].]]

French military doctrine recognised two separate fields of armoured vehicle deployment, the first consisting of primary tasks such as manoeuvre and combat, while the second included other tasks such as rearguard defence, liaison, and deception. The latter was to be the responsibility of a mobile reserve which provided interior security during wartime – designated ''Défense Opérationnelle du Territoire'' (DOT) armoured cavalry regiments.<ref name="Knox2">{{cite journal |last=Marzloff |first=Jean |title=Light Armored Units: The Quiet Revolution |journal=[[Armor magazine]] |pages=7–8 |publisher=US Army Armor Center |location=Fort Knox, Kentucky |date=July–August 1973}}</ref> Initially equipped with AMLs and jeeps modified for scouting purposes, these units worked closely with the [[National Police (France)|French police]] and [[National Gendarmerie]]. Their goal was to intercept hostile [[special forces]] or [[Airborne forces|airborne units]] which specialised in deep penetration behind the front line.<ref name="Haynes">{{Cite book|title=Panhard Armoured Car: AML 60, AML 90, Eland|first=Simon  |last=Dunstan|publisher=[[Haynes Manuals]]|year=2019|isbn=978-1-78521-194-2|pages=37, 47–49}}</ref> Secondary tasks included counter-insurgency, passive observation, and guarding static installations.<ref name="Knox2" />

Each DOT troop came to include three AML platoons.<ref name="Knox2" /> As they were expected to remain faithful to the traditional mission of reconnaissance where observation had priority over combat, a number of the AML-60s seem to have been stripped of their main armament, necessitating crew dependence on the vehicle's secondary automatic weapons. Nevertheless, to counter the mechanised threat posed by Soviet and other Warsaw Pact airborne forces, which often deployed with their own armour such as the [[ASU-57]], [[BMD-1]], and [[ASU-85]], AML-90s were favoured as well.<ref name="Haynes"/> DOT regiments came to hold a generic pool of sixteen AML-90s and thirty-four other AMLs of varying configuration.<ref name="Knox2" />

As the AML was readily air transportable, it came to form the materiel strongpoint of the [[French Foreign Legion]]'s rapid deployment force.<ref name="Jordan" /> The Legion AMLs saw combat overseas, either as part of single deployments by the [[1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment]] or to provide fire support for other Legion regiments. Crews perfected unique airfield assaults in which AML-90s were unloaded directly from [[Transall C-160]]s onto the objective, with infantry joining them by parachute.<ref name="Jordan" /> They could also deploy from [[Breguet 941]] and [[Nord Noratlas]] aircraft.<ref name="Swiss" /> These vehicles first saw combat against [[BTR-152]]s manned by [[FROLINAT]] rebels in [[Chad]] during [[Opération Tacaud]], successfully engaging an insurgent mechanised column approaching [[Salal, Chad|Salal]] around April 1978.<ref name="Libya">{{cite book |author1=Tom Cooper |author2=Albert Grandolini |name-list-style=amp |title=Libyan Air Wars: Part 1: 1973–1985|edition=2015|pages=39–37 |publisher=Helion & Co. Ltd|isbn=978-1-909982-39-0|date=2015-01-19 }}</ref> On 18 May another sixteen AMLs, supported by a company of French infantry, routed FROLINAT elements advancing on [[Ati, Chad|Ati]].<ref name="Libya" /> In the subsequent months, additional AML-90s rushed in by the [[Régiment d'infanterie-chars de marine]] (RICM) repelled a major offensive near [[Abéché]] by the Chadian [[Democratic Revolutionary Council]], which was backed by fifty [[Libya]]n [[T-55]] tanks and [[EE-9 Cascavel]] armoured cars.<ref name="Libya" />

Despite the intensity of these clashes, only three<ref name="Afrique">{{cite web|title=Répertoire typologique des opérations, Tome 2: Afrique|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=http://www.cdef.terre.defense.gouv.fr/content/download/4401/61001/file/repertoire_typo_2.pdf|location=Paris|publisher=Centre de Doctrine d'Enseignment du Commandement|date=2016|access-date=20 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407075633/http://www.cdef.terre.defense.gouv.fr/content/download/4401/61001/file/repertoire_typo_2.pdf|archive-date=7 April 2016}}</ref> French AMLs were lost in Chad between 1978 and 1979, most likely to [[RPG-7]]s.<ref name="Libya" /> The Foreign Legion's AML squadrons continued to see action during [[Operation Manta]] and the extended [[Opération Épervier]], being organised into anti-tank support groups for three battalion-sized task forces.<ref name="Davis">{{cite journal|title=Wheels for the Future: Should the U.S. Army Adopt an Armored Wheeled System?|last=Davis|first=Glenn|url=http://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a234372.pdf|location=Fort Leavenworth, Kansas|publisher=United States Army Intelligence Center|year=1990|access-date=4 January 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160930170245/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a234372.pdf|archive-date=30 September 2016}}</ref> Their speed and mobility proved instrumental in destroying much heavier Libyan main battle tanks.<ref name="Davis" /> However, the French crews could only make up for their inferiority in firepower by outflanking the tanks first or attacking from the rear, and by the mid 1980s the threat posed by large Libyan armoured formations was considered so severe a squadron of [[AMX-10RC]]s had to be deployed as well.<ref name="Davis" />

A single RICM AML platoon was deployed to assist in the 1979 overthrow of the [[Central African Empire]] during [[Operation Caban]], likely shifted from Marine contingents stationed in Chad or [[Gabon]].<ref name="Afrique" /> The armoured cars were landed at the airport in concert with French paratroopers during a textbook airborne assault; however, the defending Central African troops surrendered without offering resistance.<ref name="Afrique" /> AMLs did not see action again until [[Operation Épaulard I]], when twenty AML-60s and AML-90s were deployed for [[Infantry support gun|infantry support]] purposes. As the French infantrymen lacked heavy weapons of their own, they remained dependent on the AMLs for suppressing hard targets; this persuaded the French Army of the need for [[infantry fighting vehicles]] in overseas operations.<ref name="Reppy">{{cite web|title=Répertoire typologique des opérations, Tome 1: Europe, Moyen-Orient, Asie, Amerique Centrale, Caraibes|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=http://www.cdef.terre.defense.gouv.fr/content/download/4402/61008/file/repertoire_typo_1.pdf|location=Paris|publisher=Centre de Doctrine d'Enseignment du Commandement |date=2016|access-date=20 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160930192204/http://www.cdef.terre.defense.gouv.fr/content/download/4402/61008/file/repertoire_typo_1.pdf|archive-date=30 September 2016}}</ref> The AML-90s were later used by the RICM against the [[Rwandan Patriotic Front]] during the [[Rwandan Civil War]].<ref name="Raids">{{cite magazine|title=L'automitrailleuse légère Panhard AML-90|url=http://francegenocidetutsi.org/AML90Raids101octobre1994.pdf|language=fr|magazine=Raids|pages=33–36|issue=101|date=October 1994}}</ref>

The [[Mobile Gendarmerie]] operated over a hundred AML-60s and AML-90s, which were allocated to nineteen separate squadrons.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.senat.fr/rap/1986-1987/i1986_1987_0070_05.pdf |title=Senat Avis: Premiere Session Ordinaire de 1986–1987 (Tome V) |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150629163214/http://www.senat.fr/rap/1986-1987/i1986_1987_0070_05.pdf |archive-date=29 June 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The AML was superseded in service with the Mobile Gendarmerie by the [[VBC-90]] at the end of the 1980s.<ref name="Haynes"/>

The last AMLs were withdrawn from active service in the French Army in 1991, being superseded by the [[Panhard ERC]] and the [[AMX-10RC]].<ref name="Haynes"/> France retained about three hundred of these AMLs in storage as part of its strategic reserve as late as 1995.<ref name="Margeride">{{cite web|url=http://www.institut-strategie.fr/strat_062_margeridef_tdm.html|title=Quelques Idees, Plus Ou Moins Non-Conformistes, Sur Les Far/FDR|access-date=15 November 2014|archive-date=3 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140703001931/http://www.institut-strategie.fr/strat_062_margeridef_tdm.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> A small number were also used to simulate [[Opposing force|OPFOR]] armoured vehicles at the [[Centre d'entraînement aux actions en zone urbaine]] (CENZUB) until 2012, when they were finally decommissioned.<ref name="Haynes"/>

====Portugal====
Franco-Portuguese military relations experienced a significant improvement during the 1960s, with the establishment of a French strategic missile tracking site on [[Flores Island (Azores)|Flores Island]] in the [[Azores]].<ref name=Ultramar1>{{cite book|last1=Humbaraci|first1=Arslan|last2=Muchnik|first2=Nicole|title=Portugal's African Wars: Angola, Guinea Bissao, Mozambique|date=1974|pages=193–196|publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers]]|location=London|isbn=978-0-333-13610-2}}</ref> The Portuguese government was compensated with French arms, which it acquired under especially generous terms.<ref name=Ultramar1 /> Following the outbreak of the [[Portuguese Colonial War]], Lisbon began ordering AML-60s for deployment to its three African territories: [[Angola]], [[Mozambique]], and [[Guinea-Bissau]].<ref name="Abbott">{{cite book |last=Peter Abbot|title=Modern African Wars (2): Angola and Mozambique 1961–74|edition=1988|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-0-85045-843-5|date=1988-07-28}}</ref> The armoured cars were purchased on long-term credit, with the French government granting payment facilities ranging from ten to twenty years, at six per cent annual interest.<ref name=Ultramar1 /> About 50 AML-60s were delivered to the [[Portuguese Army]] between 1965 and 1968 to complement the ageing EBR already in service.<ref name=trade /> They were circulated largely among reconnaissance platoons in Africa, which utilised them for convoy escort purposes.<ref name="Abbott" /> Severe maintenance problems were soon encountered in the corrosive tropical environment, compounded by excessive dust, which caused transmission and engine damage.<ref name="Auto-Metralhadoras" /> Most AMLs stalled during their initial convoy support missions and had to be towed behind other vehicles.<ref name="AAFJ">''[https://books.google.com/books?id=6eYxAQAAIAAJ African Armed Forces Journal]'': Article "Eland Mk 7 Diesel: African Design". Military Publications (Pty) Ltd, Volume 1994, Collected Issues September to December 1994 p. 28.</ref> These issues were later rectified by the installation of custom [[Volkswagen]] air intakes.<ref name="Auto-Metralhadoras" /> Around the early 1970s, all Portuguese AML-60s in Angola were retrofitted with liquid-cooled, four-cylinder General Motors engines and pressure plate clutches, giving them a resemblance to the Eland Mk7.<ref name="Auto-Metralhadoras" /> The new engines were adopted because they were cheaper to replace and Portugal found it easier to source their associated parts.<ref name="Auto-Metralhadoras" />

In 1974, a squadron of AML-60s seconded to the Portuguese Army's School of Cavalry at [[Santarém, Portugal|Santarém]] took part in the [[Carnation Revolution]], which heralded the collapse of the country's ruling ''[[Estado Novo (Portugal)|Estado Novo]]'' regime and its colonial empire.<ref name=Carnation>{{cite book|author=Sunday Times of London Insight Team|title=Insight on Portugal: The Year of the Captains|date=1975|page=81|publisher=[[André Deutsch]]|location=London|isbn=978-0-233-96733-2}}</ref> The following year, when Portugal withdrew from Angola under the terms of the [[Alvor Agreement]], 5 AML-60s were abandoned in that country and subsequently taken into service by Angolan factions.<ref name=trade /> About 36 of the remaining AMLs were redistributed to the ''Regimento de Cavalaria N.º 3'' (3rd Cavalry Regiment) and ''Regimento de Cavalaria N.º 6'' (6th Cavalry Regiment), while the others were held in reserve.<ref name="Auto-Metralhadoras" />

The Portuguese government entered into negotiations with a local subsidiary of [[Opel]] in 1982 to upgrade its entire AML fleet with liquid-cooled engines and pressure plate clutches, exempting those which had already received similar modifications during their service in Angola.<ref name="Auto-Metralhadoras" /> Opel upgraded one AML for evaluation purposes before the programme was abandoned.<ref name="Auto-Metralhadoras" /> Another, more successful, project entailed the addition of Portuguese PRC-239 wireless radio sets and communications equipment.<ref name="Auto-Metralhadoras" /> The AML-60s were retired from 1989 onwards and replaced by the [[Véhicule Blindé Léger]].<ref name="Auto-Metralhadoras" />

===Middle East===
[[File:AML-90 at Latrun11.JPG|thumb|Plinthed Israeli AML-90 at [[Yad La-Shiryon]].]]
[[File:T-55 at Latrun1.JPG|thumb|Flat margin (turret race) between an Egyptian T-54/55's turret and angled glacis, one of the few areas on the tank vulnerable to 90&nbsp;mm HEAT munitions.<ref name="Mannall" /><ref name="Scholtz">{{cite book|last=Scholtz|first=Leopold|title=The SADF in the Border War 1966–1989|year=2013|publisher=Tafelberg|location=Cape Town|isbn=978-0-624-05410-8}}</ref>]]

====Israel====
An order of 29 AML-90s placed by the [[Israel Defense Forces]] (IDF) in 1960 marked the first sale of AMLs to a foreign power, ushered in a new era of French arms sales to Jerusalem, and helped cement Panhard's success on the export market.<ref name="trade" /> The IDF armoured cars had been received by the end of 1963 and were first displayed publicly on the eve of [[Yom Ha'atzmaut]], 1966.<ref>''[https://books.google.com/books?id=a7MMAQAAMAAJ&q=French+armored+reconnaissance+car+Israel The Israel Digest of Press and Events in Israel and the Middle East]''. The Israel Digest, 1966, Collected Issues Volumes 9–10.</ref> Israeli units were primarily impressed by their high mobility and ergonomic nature, which was deemed ideal for airborne operations.<ref name="Latrun">{{Citation |title=AML 90 |year=2015 |type=Exhibit |publisher=[[Armored Corps (Israel)]] |location= [[Yad La-Shiryon]], [[Latrun]].}}</ref> Nevertheless, the AML-90's envisaged deployment by new [[Aérospatiale SA 321 Super Frelon]]s also purchased from France did not materialise, as the helicopters could not handle its 5,500&nbsp;kg combat weight.<ref name="Update" />

At least 9 AML-90s were in service with the 41st Reconnaissance Company of the [[Harel Brigade]] during the [[Six-Day War]] under a Major Amnon Eshkol, participating in the capture of [[Ramallah]] in June 1967.<ref name=Baruchy>Nachum Baruchy: ''The Hare'l (10th) Armoured Brigade In The Six Day War''. Ariel Publishing, Jerusalem. 2010 (In Hebrew). Baruchy States that the 10th Brigade had one company (9 vehicles) of Panhard AML's.</ref><ref name="Arab1">{{cite book |author1=Simon Dunstan |author2=Peter Dennis |name-list-style=amp |title=The Six Day War 1967: Jordan and Syria|year=2009 |url=https://archive.org/details/sixdaywarsinaica00duns |url-access=limited |edition=2009|page=[https://archive.org/details/sixdaywarsinaica00duns/page/n30 29] |publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-1-84603-364-3}}</ref> The AMLs were initially posted at [[Mevaseret Zion]] following the fall of East [[Jerusalem]]. They were among the first IDF armour to cross into the [[West Bank]] during the conflict, probing for Jordanian resistance. Major roads had been blocked by tank barriers although these could be easily bypassed in nimbler armoured cars.<ref name="IDF">{{cite book |last=Hammel, Eric|title=Six Days in June: How Israel Won the 1967 Arab-Israeli War|edition=1992|pages=315–320 |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons|isbn=978-0-935553-54-3|date=March 2001}}</ref> The much more cumbersome [[Super Sherman]] and [[Centurion tank|Centurion]] tanks tasked with leading the IDF's spearhead towards [[Gibeah|Tell el-Ful]] failed to reach their objective; most were forced to turn back in the face of difficult terrain.<ref name="IDF" /> Joined by the surviving seven Shermans and eight [[M3 Half-track|M3 half-tracks]], Major Eshkol's AML-90s later helped defeat a Jordanian counterattack with [[M48 Patton]]s.<ref name="IDF" />

In the [[War of Attrition]], Israeli AMLs faced Jordanian M48s again on the [[Damia Bridge]] during the [[Battle of Karameh]].<ref name="Update" /> Originally tasked with screening the IDF Centurions as they crossed the bridge, the lightly armoured AML-90 was at a unique disadvantage when confronted by entrenched Pattons. Moreover, the [[Jordan River]] was in flood and vehicle crews were unable to exploit their manoeuvrability in the muddy farmland. Several AMLs were knocked out by tank fire or towed anti-tank guns.<ref name="Update" /> They were withdrawn from service not long afterwards.<ref name="Update" />

The [[Arab–Israeli conflict]] marked some of the highest armour-to-armour kill ratios achieved with the AML platform to date, including the destruction of at least 13 Egyptian and Jordanian tanks.<ref name="T-54">''[https://books.google.com/books?id=bXtTAAAAYAAJ&q=Egyptian+T-54s Armed Forces]''. Contributions by the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies. Allan Limited and the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies., 1986.</ref> Especially notable were several [[T-54]] kills credited to an AML-90 platoon in the [[Sinai Peninsula]]: as late as the 1980s, military scholars continued to maintain that the 90&nbsp;mm DEFA cannon lacked the muzzle velocity to penetrate the thick steel hull of a T-54/55.<ref name="Mannall" /> More well-documented cases have since verified this was possible, though only with multiple shots or a direct hit on the turret rim near the driver's hatch.<ref name="Mannall" /><ref name="Mitchell">{{cite book |first=Thomas G. |last=Mitchell |title=Israel/Palestine and the Politics of a Two-State Solution |year=2013 |page=97 |publisher=McFarland & Company Inc. |location=Jefferson |isbn=978-0-7864-7597-1}}</ref> Israeli AML crews also sustained losses of their own during this engagement,<ref name="T-54" /> and some AML-90s may have been captured intact by the Egyptian defenders.<ref name="Suez">{{Cite web |url=http://www.armyrecognition.com/egypt_egyptian_army_wheeled_armoured_vehicle_fr/aml-90_egypt_egyptian_army_pictures_photos_images_wheeled_armoured_vehicle_vehicule_blinde_roues_fr.html |title=AML-90 Véhicule blindé léger (Egypte) |date=July 27, 2015 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150727081416/http://www.armyrecognition.com/egypt_egyptian_army_wheeled_armoured_vehicle_fr/aml-90_egypt_egyptian_army_pictures_photos_images_wheeled_armoured_vehicle_vehicule_blinde_roues_fr.html |archive-date=27 July 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Saudi Arabia====
In 1964, the [[Saudi Arabian Army|Royal Saudi Army]] issued a requirement for an armoured car proven in desert warfare and equipped with a large semi-automatic cannon.<ref name="Saladin">''[https://books.google.com/books?id=_bUtAQAAIAAJ&q=Panhard Records of Saudi Arabia, 1961–1965: 1965]''. Burdett, Anita (editor). British Foreign Office, 1997, Volume 6 p. 57. {{ISBN|978-1-85207-770-9}}.</ref> Bids were accepted from three companies—Alvis, [[Cadillac Gage]], and Panhard—which offered the Saladin, [[Cadillac Gage Commando|V-100 Commando]], and AML, respectively, but the debate over which of the three to adopt was hamstrung by political considerations early on.<ref name="Saladin" /> Saudi Arabia remained inhibited from seeking American assistance in devising suitable defence programmes by the criticism and hostility of other Arab states. Under these circumstances, only arms transactions with French or British firms could be entertained.<ref name=Safran1985>{{cite book|author=Nadav Safran|title=Saudi Arabia: The Ceaseless Quest for Security|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zSkIi_1T1FsC&pg=PR17|access-date=4 August 2015|year=1985|publisher=Cornell University Press|isbn=978-0-8014-9484-0|page=204}}</ref> Despite longstanding diplomatic contacts, the French presence in [[Riyadh]] was rather limited compared to that of the [[United Kingdom]], and the latter was in a better position to provide long-term logistical support for armoured cars to the Saudi military.<ref name="Saladin" /> Alvis was initially awarded a contract for 83 Saladins with a ten-year option on spare parts.<ref name="Saladin" /> Final negotiations for the delivery of the Saladins were underway<ref name="Saladin" /> when [[Sultan bin Abdulaziz]] abruptly cancelled the purchase in favour of Panhard.<ref name="MEED">''Middle East Economic Digest (1968)''. Collard, Elizabeth, Volume 12 pp. 131—173.</ref>
[[File:Niger Panhard AML.JPG|thumb|Saudi AML-90s and AML-60s donated to the [[Niger Armed Forces]] during [[Operation Desert Shield]].<ref name="Khaled">{{cite book |first=Khaled |last=Bin Sultan |title=Desert warrior: a personal view of the Gulf War by the Joint Forces commander |year=1995 |page=[https://archive.org/details/desertwarriorper00khal/page/257 257] |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |location=New York City |isbn=978-0-06-017298-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/desertwarriorper00khal/page/257 }}</ref>]]
The $95 million Panhard deal proved instrumental in breaking existing preconceptions that the Arabian arms market was well protected by the UK. Gaullist circles heralded it as a major business and political success.<ref name="Saudi">{{cite news|title=Arabs to buy armored cars|last=Granato|first=Leonard|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=ddB7do2jUx8C&dat=19680227&printsec=frontpage&hl=en|work=Spokane Daily Chronicle|location=Spokane, Washington|date=27 February 1968|access-date=28 June 2015}}</ref> In an interview in [[Beirut]], Sultan bin Abdulaziz merely asserted that AMLs were selected as part of [[Faisal of Saudi Arabia|King Faisal]]'s policy to strengthen the army with a greater infusion of modern arms.<ref name="MER">''Middle East Record (1968)''. Israel Universities Press, 1973, Volume 4 p. 684.</ref> Saudi Army officials had preferred the heavier Saladin and appreciated its worthiness in desert conditions, but conceded the AML-90 was much cheaper.<ref name="MEED" /> Panhard undertook the order amid much protest by pro-Israel lobbyists in France, who urged restraint in shipping arms to Arab bloc states likely to use them against Tel-Aviv.<ref name="Saudi" /> The sale was also challenged as a violation of [[Charles de Gaulle]]'s Middle Eastern embargo, although the French government insisted it did not classify armoured scout cars as the same "heavy war materiel" covered by sanctions.<ref name="Saudi" />

Saudi AML-90s of the 20th Armoured Brigade were blooded near [[Daraa]] during the [[Yom Kippur War]], having been airlifted to assist its Syrian defenders in [[Lockheed C-130 Hercules]] aircraft loaned from [[Iran]].<ref name="O'Ballance">{{cite book |last=Edgar O'Ballance|title=No victor, no vanquished: The Yom Kippur War|edition=1979|pages= 28–370 |publisher=Barrie & Jenkins Publishing|isbn=978-0-214-20670-2|year=1979}}</ref> The airlift was carried out on October 14, 1973; six Iranian C-130s were needed to convey the vehicles and about 2,000 motorised infantrymen from Saudi Arabia to Syria.<ref name="O'Ballance" /> AML crews were generally assigned to static guard duty, patrolling the Damascus-Daraa road and keeping lines of communications clear between the multinational Arab forces.<ref name="O'Ballance" /> At least one AML-90 was captured by the [[Golani Brigade]], likely while attempting to reconnoiter an IDF position after dark.<ref name="Golan">{{cite book |last1=Dunstan |first1=Simon|title=The Yom Kippur War 1973: Golan Heights Pt.1|url=https://archive.org/details/yomkippurwarsina00duns |url-access=limited |year=2003 |publisher=Osprey Publishing Ltd.|location=Oxford, United Kingdom |isbn=978-1-84176-220-3 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/yomkippurwarsina00duns/page/n96 78]–79}}</ref> The captured vehicle was later displayed by Israeli officials to the international press as proof of direct Saudi military involvement in the Syrian war effort.<ref name="O'Ballance" />

On October 16, the 7th Brigade, 71st Tank Battalion of the IDF's [[36th Division (Israel)|36th Armoured Division]] reported clashing with the Saudi armoured cars as they performed reconnaissance for Iraqi forces near Tel Antar.<ref name=Syrianfront>{{cite book|last=Asher|first=Dani|title=Inside Israel's Northern Command: The Yom Kippur War on the Syrian Border|date=2014|pages=415–418|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|location=Lexington|isbn=978-0-8131-6737-4}}</ref> The Saudis quickly disengaged.<ref name=Syrianfront /> At some point between this skirmish and the evening of October 17, all the Saudi AMLs—almost a composite light armoured battalion—launched an unsuccessful attack on IDF positions at the village of Tel Merai.<ref name=Syrianfront /> Thereafter the remaining armoured cars and their crews were integrated with the Jordanian 40th Armoured Brigade.<ref name=Syrianfront /> On October 19, they participated in a joint offensive with that unit but were halted by accurate tank fire from the IDF's 17th Reserve Armour Brigade and forced to retreat.<ref name="Golan" />

The Israelis claimed to have destroyed most of the Saudi AMLs at Tel Merai.<ref name=Syrianfront /> Saudi accounts acknowledge the loss of only 4 AMLs; furthermore, the Saudis claimed to have knocked out 5 Israeli tanks and damaged 5 more.<ref name="O'Ballance" />

Saudi Arabia ordered between 200 and 220<ref name="Saudi" /> AMLs from France in 1968, with deliveries completed by 1970.<ref name="trade" /> Some sources have claimed a second order was placed in 1978 for another 250.<ref name="Tan">{{cite book |first=Riad |last=Attar (ed. Tan, Andrew)|title=The Global Arms Trade: A Handbook |year=2010 |page=115 |publisher=Routledge Books |location=London |isbn=978-1-85743-497-2}}</ref> The Saudi Army has since retired much of its Panhard fleet and exported surplus stocks to various nations.<ref name="Update2">''[https://books.google.com/books?id=HJk0AQAAIAAJ&q=Panhard Africa Analysis]''. Africa Analysis Collected Edition, 1996, 1995–96 Volume Collected Issues 238–262.</ref> During the [[Gulf War]], an estimated 200 AML-90s were phased from service.<ref name="Khaled" /> Upon learning that the [[Senegal]]ese units participating in Operation Desert Shield were also familiar with the Panhard type, General [[Khalid bin Sultan]] ordered a number retained for their use. The armoured cars were hurriedly serviced, then donated to Senegal.{{refn|Per [[Khalid bin Sultan]]: ''I recalled we were phasing out of our armed forces over 200 French-built AML-90 Panhard armored fighting vehicles of a type with which the Senegalese were familiar.

''"How many can you make operational?" I asked.''

''"As many as you want."''

''"Fine. Hold on to them." In due course, we issued these vehicles to the Senegalese, and also to the contingents from Niger and Morocco, and at the end of the war, on Prince Sultan's instructions, we gave the armored cars to them in gratitude for their help.''<ref name="Khaled" />|name=KBS|group=note}} Large quantities were also accepted by [[Morocco]] and [[Niger]].<ref name="Update2" />

====Lebanon====
[[File:Panhard Beirut1.jpg|thumb|AML-90 of the [[Lebanese Army]] in [[Beirut]], 1982.]]

At least 74 AML-90s were delivered to the [[Lebanese Armed Forces]] (LAF) between 1970 and 1975, and saw considerable action in the [[Lebanese Civil War]].<ref name="trade" /> As their crews often left them unguarded outside army compounds, several may have been stolen by LAF deserters on their way to join regional militias.<ref name="Hamizrachi">{{cite book |first=Beate |last= Hamizrachi|title=The Emergence of South Lebanon Security Belt |year=1984 |pages=55–89 |publisher=Praeger |location=New York |isbn=978-0-275-92854-4}}</ref> Others vanished during the disintegration of individual battalions, and by 1981 Lebanon's fleet had dwindled to 52.<ref name="Africa">''African Defence Journal'': Article "Panhard Armoured Cars and Reconnaissance Vehicles in Africa". The Journal Publishers, 1981 volume, Collected Issues 5–16 p. 58.</ref> The surviving AML squadrons remained plagued by chronic shortages of personnel; some crews even fought in their turrets without a trained commander and depended on inexperienced [[Artillery observer|spotters]] outside the vehicles to guide their fire. This resulted in phenomenal inaccuracy.<ref name="Root">{{cite book |last1=Hammel |first1=Eric M. |title=The Root: The Marines in Beirut, August 1982-February 1984 |year=1985 |publisher=Harcourt Brace Jovanovich |location=New York |isbn=978-0-15-179006-7 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/rootmarinesin00hamm/page/162 162–179] |url=https://archive.org/details/rootmarinesin00hamm/page/162 }}</ref>

Following the [[Battle of the Hotels]], [[Lebanese Front]] troops in the Port District of Beirut brought their Panhards into action for the first time in the civil war, engaging [[Charioteer tank]]s crewed by [[Amal Movement|Amal]] and [[Lebanese Arab Army]] (LAA) militants. Having lost nearly all their heavy armour and tanks to the militias, the predominantly Christian remnants of the Lebanese Army appropriated three AML-90s and nine obsolete [[T17 (armored car)|T17 Staghounds]] to stave off repeated assaults by LAA forces from the hotel district.<ref name=Lebanon>{{cite report|title=Military Operations in selected Lebanese built-up areas, 1975–1978 |author=United States Army Human Engineering Laboratory |work=Technical Memorandum 11–79 |date=June 1979 |url=http://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/b040213.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201161520/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/b040213.pdf |archive-date=February 1, 2014 }}</ref> Due to the armoured cars' heightened vulnerability to [[RPG-7]]s, their crews began using debris as makeshift barricades. Muslim fighters failed in attempting to destroy the AMLs with RPGs, as well as [[B-10 recoilless rifle|B-10]] and [[M40 recoilless rifle|M40]] recoilless rifles, since the projectiles lacked a clear trajectory in the rubble.<ref name=Lebanon /> The AML-90s' immense firepower at close quarters soon resulted in great structural damage to portside Beirut; a number of fortified buildings were wrecked by 90&nbsp;mm HE shells, and those struck by multiple HEAT volleys demolished on their foundations. With truck-mounted [[ZU-23-2]]s covering their advance, the AMLs advanced on Allenby Street, flattening all resistance, and took the waterfront.<ref name=Lebanon /> Although both the LAA and the leftist [[Lebanese National Movement]] hastily brought up Charioteers and [[M41 Walker Bulldog]] tanks, so much wreckage was blocking the streets they could not manoeuvre. It was impossible to shoot accurately through the debris, and tanks could only manage speculative fire to discourage the AMLs.<ref name=Lebanon />

In 1983, LAF tanks with AML-90s in support were sent to eliminate Amal militants then threatening elements of [[Multinational Force in Lebanon]] (MNF) at the [[Lebanese University]]. Following the [[Siege of Beirut]], the LAF again mobilised its AMLs to occupy positions vacated by withdrawing Israeli troops.<ref name="Root" /> An undisclosed number were upgraded to AML-90 Lynx standard, including laser rangefinders, and continued to see service as late as 2014 against [[Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon|Syrian militants]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/19255 |title=Lebanese army raids Bab al-Tabbaneh in second day of "security plan" |date=August 6, 2015 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150806173659/http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/19255 |archive-date=6 August 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Tripoli">{{Cite web |url=http://www.yourmiddleeast.com/news/lebanon-army-expands-operation-in-restive-tripoli_22651 |title=Lebanon army expands operation in restive Tripoli |date=October 20, 2015 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151020055153/http://www.yourmiddleeast.com/news/lebanon-army-expands-operation-in-restive-tripoli_22651 |archive-date=20 October 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

=====Militia use=====
Panhard AMLs were favoured by the Lebanese militias due to their flexibility, especially in [[urban combat]] situations which saw them deployed against heavier [[Syria]]n armour.<ref name="Badran">{{cite book |last=Badran |first=Tony (Rubin, Barry ed.) |title=Lebanon: Liberation, Conflict, and Crisis |location=London |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-230-62306-4 |pages=50–52}}</ref> A detailed analysis undertaken by the [[United States Army Research Laboratory]] in 1979 found the AML "operated effectively in Beirut" and noted that "the ease with which the Panhard is driven and repaired, and the absence of tracks, provide the mobility desirable in an urban environment."<ref name=Lebanon /> Modifications to militia AMLs included replacement of the original Michelin tyres with an air-pocketed type more resistant to mortar [[Fragmentation (weaponry)|shrapnel]], as well as increased armour plate {{Ndash}} fabricated after the appearance of Syrian tanks made it difficult ordering volunteers to man the lightly protected vehicles.<ref name=Lebanon />

Christian [[Kataeb Party|Phalangist]] militiamen deployed twelve AML-90s as [[assault gun]]s during the [[Siege of Tel al-Zaatar]], using their elevated 90&nbsp;mm cannon to knock out second or third storey fortifications shielding Palestinian guerrillas.<ref name=Lebanon /> AML-90s of the [[Druze in Lebanon|Druze]] [[Progressive Socialist Party]]'s (PSP) [[People's Liberation Army (Lebanon)|People's Liberation Army]] (PLA) militia also swung into action against five Staghounds of the Lebanese [[Internal Security Forces]] during a raid on Fayadiyeh barracks in mid-1976. The armoured cars were incompetently handled by the leftist forces, and later abandoned near [[Kahale]] with an [[AMX-13]] due to mechanical problems.<ref name=Lebanon />

=====UNIFIL=====
[[File:Irish UNIFIL Panhard AML-90 1.jpg|thumb|Irish UNIFIL AML-90. AMLs have been deployed in support of eight UN-affiliated peacekeeping missions since [[UNFICYP]] in 1964.<ref name="Wheels">{{cite journal |last=Malmassari |first=Paul |title=UN Armored Cars/Reconnaissance Vehicles (since the beginning) |journal=Armored Car: The Wheeled Fighting Vehicle Journal |pages=8–9 |publisher=David Haugh Publisher |location=Salem, Oregon |date=August 1996}}</ref>]]
In April 1978, AMLs of the [[Irish Army]] were deployed with the [[United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon]] (UNIFIL), where they saw considerable action against the [[South Lebanon Army]] (SLA) militia.<ref name="Lavery">{{cite news |title=Veteran armoured car fleet retired |last=Lavery |first=Don |url=http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/veteran-armoured-car-fleet-retired-29235903.html |work=The Irish Independent |location=Dublin |date=1 May 2013 |access-date=4 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170129080046/http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/veteran-armoured-car-fleet-retired-29235903.html |archive-date=29 January 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Ireland had originally purchased 16 AML-60s in 1964 for its large [[United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus]] (UNFICYP) contingent.<ref name=Ishizuka>{{cite book|last=Ishizuka|first=Katsumi|title=Ireland and International Peacekeeping Operations 1960–2000: A Study of Irish Motivation|date=2004|pages=81–82|publisher=Routledge Books|location=Abingdon|isbn=978-0-7146-8440-6}}</ref> The deterioration of the security situation there led to its purchase of another 16 AML-60s and 20 AML-90s, which had been initially rejected due to their expense but were now deemed necessary for their significant offensive capabilities.<ref name="Irish">{{cite book | last = Adrian English| title = Irish Army Orders of Battle 1923–2004 |edition= 2005|pages= 56–78 | publisher = Tiger Lily Books| isbn= 978-0-9720296-7-4| year = 2005 }}</ref> A reconnaissance company consisting of at least 4 UNFICYP AML-90s and 14 [[Panhard M3]]s were subsequently shipped from Cyprus to Lebanon alongside the 43rd Irish Battalion, which joined the newly formed UNIFIL.<ref name="Irish" /> As the most heavily armed of the national UNIFIL contingents, the Irish AMLs frequently functioned as a mobile force reserve.<ref name="Irish" /> They were also used for manning checkpoints between the belligerent SLA and [[Palestine Liberation Organization]] (PLO) positions.<ref name=O>{{cite book|last=O'Clery|first=Conor|title=May You Live in Interesting Times|date=2008|pages=24–362|publisher=Poolberg Press Ltd|location=Dublin|isbn=978-1-84223-325-2}}</ref> By 1980 at least one AML had been damaged by a PLO RPG-7 aimed at the SLA lines. The armoured car caught fire, though all three crew members survived.<ref name=O />

On August 12, 1980, SLA militiamen attacked an Irish UNIFIL checkpoint at the village of At Tiri in southern Lebanon,<ref name=O /> having been antagonised by a statement made by [[Brian Lenihan Snr]], Ireland's minister for foreign affairs, which they perceived as supportive of the PLO.<ref name="Harvey">{{cite book |last=Harvey |first=Dan |title=Attack on At Tiri: Force Met With Force |location=Dunboyne |publisher=Maverick House |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-908518-18-7 |pages=12–136}}</ref> One peacekeeper was mortally wounded, nine others taken prisoner, and the checkpoint overrun.<ref name="Harvey" /> The SLA then deployed four [[M9 Half-track]]s equipped with [[Browning M2|Browning HB]] heavy machine guns, which they used to harass UNIFIL convoys. Two days later, Irish AML-90s counterattacked and retook the village. One half-track was immobilised, and a second destroyed after receiving a direct hit from a 90&nbsp;mm shell.<ref name=O /> A third was abandoned when its Browning was disabled by warning fire from an AML's coaxial machine gun.<ref name="Harvey" /> The armoured cars also held a tense standoff with SLA [[Super Sherman|M50 "Super" Sherman]] tanks on the outskirts of At Tiri, although the latter ultimately declined to intervene in the fighting and were not engaged by Irish forces.<ref name="Badran" /> They withdrew upon the arrival of Dutch UNIFIL reinforcements armed with [[BGM-71 TOW]] missiles.<ref name="Harvey" />

At least one AML-90 crew commander was awarded Ireland's highest military honour, the [[Military Medal for Gallantry]], for actions during the At Tiri engagement.<ref name="Harvey" /> Irish AMLs may have seen action again in 1996 during [[Operation Grapes of Wrath]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Elliot|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=http://www.contactairlandandsea.com/2009/Past_Editions/cc04/cc04.pdf|date=June 2013|title=Out with a bang|journal=Combat Camera|page=14}}</ref>

====Yemen====
In 1974, North Yemeni political leader [[Abdullah ibn Husayn al-Ahmar]] traveled to Saudi Arabia to negotiate the transfer of arms to the fledgling [[Yemen Arab Republic]], which was rebuilding its armed forces after a recent [[North Yemen Civil War|civil war]].<ref name="Yemen1">{{cite web|title=SAG willing to purchase arms for YAR|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1974JIDDA05143_b.html|location=Washington DC
|publisher=United States Department of State (republished by WikiLeaks) |date=5 September 1974|access-date=29 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027101848/https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1974JIDDA05143_b.html|archive-date=27 October 2016}}</ref> The Royal Saudi Army agreed to donate 31 AML-90s from its own stocks, as well as provide the necessary instructors for training Yemeni crews.<ref name="Yemen1"/> When [[Ali Abdullah Saleh]] became president of North Yemen in the late 1970s, the AML-90s were transferred to various paramilitary units in [[Sana'a]] and repurposed as internal security vehicles.<ref name="CIA1">{{cite web|title=Soviet Ground Force Weapons And Armored Vehicles|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP88T00096R000800980002-6.pdf|location=Langley
|publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]]|date=December 1987|access-date=24 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170124133126/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP88T00096R000800980002-6.pdf|archive-date=24 January 2017}}</ref> Upon Yemeni unification, they were adopted into the integrated [[Republic of Yemen Armed Forces]].<ref name=Cordesman2016>{{cite book|last=Cordesman|first=Anthony|title=After The Storm: The Changing Military Balance in the Middle East|date=October 2016|pages=112–124, 701|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|location=London|isbn=978-1-4742-9256-6}}</ref> Yemen purchased another 15 AML-90s and AML-60s from France in 1998.<ref name="trade" />

In the early 2000s, Yemen's army and security forces possessed a fleet of 125 AML-90s and 60 AMLs of other variants, most of which had been acquired from undisclosed sources.<ref name=Cordesman2016 /> Due to attrition and age, the fleet dwindled to 95 by 2013.<ref name="Security3">{{cite web|title=Yemen|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=http://www.inss.org.il/he/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/systemfiles/Yemen.pdf|location=Tel-Aviv
|publisher=Institute For National Security Studies|date=6 October 2013 |access-date=26 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170726101809/http://www.inss.org.il/he/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/systemfiles/Yemen.pdf|archive-date=26 July 2017}}</ref> In 2014, the Yemeni army stripped a number of AML-90s of their turrets and refitted them to its [[BTR-60]]PB armoured personnel carriers, suggesting the former were finally nearing the end of their service life.<ref name="IHS">{{cite web|title=IHS Jane's Defence Insight Report|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=https://www.ihs.com/pdf/IHS-Janes-Land-Plat-Defence-Insight-Report_180277110913052132.pdf|location=London|publisher=Jane's Information Group|date=May 2014|access-date=26 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170726103825/https://www.ihs.com/pdf/IHS-Janes-Land-Plat-Defence-Insight-Report_180277110913052132.pdf |archive-date=26 July 2017}}</ref> Some AMLs have continued to see service in the ongoing [[Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)|Yemeni Civil War]].<ref name="Lost">{{cite web|title=Lost Armour of the Yemeni Civil War|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=http://lostarmour.info/yemen/item.php?id=8755|location=Limassol, Cyprus|publisher=Danesco Trading Ltd|date=May 2014|access-date=26 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170726105433/http://lostarmour.info/yemen/item.php?id=8755|archive-date=26 July 2017}}</ref>

====Iraq====
During the mid 1960s, France was investigating new sources for cheap, good quality crude oil in the Middle East and began cultivating strategic partnerships with both [[Iraq]] and [[Iran]] accordingly.<ref name=Oil>{{cite book|last=Styan|first=David|title=France and Iraq: Oil, Arms and French Policy-Making in the Middle East|date=1997|pages=84–87|publisher=I.B. Tauris & Company, Ltd|location=London|isbn=978-1-84511-045-1}}</ref> The establishment of strong bilateral ties between the French and Iraqi governments in 1967 coincided with several oil concessions being granted to a French firm, [[Elf Aquitaine]], and an Iraqi military programme to acquire new Western arms in the aftermath of the Six-Day War.<ref name=Oil /> A delegation from the [[Iraqi Armed Forces]] first visited Paris around December 1967, and was followed by a second led personally by General [[Abdul Rahman Arif]] in February 1968.<ref name=Oil /> The Iraqis apparently placed orders for 75 AML armoured cars during both visits.<ref name="trade" /> Both orders resulted in a total of 106 AML-60s and 40 AML-90s being acquired by Iraq.<ref name=Razoux>{{cite book|last=Razoux|first=Pierre|title=The Iran-Iraq War|date=2015|pages=39, 89|publisher=Belknap Press|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|isbn=978-0-674-08863-4}}</ref> These sales were perceived by the French government as a practical manifestation of its new Middle Eastern policies and an opportunity for cultivating more interest in new oil and other commercial deals France hoped to sign with Iraq.<ref name=Oil /> The decision to transfer AMLs to Iraq was, much like the similar sale to Saudi Arabia, vilified by the French domestic press as a violation of a voluntary arms embargo imposed on the Middle East.<ref name=Oil /> In both cases, the French government maintained that the embargo excluded only arms with "clear offensive characteristics", such as tanks or fighter aircraft.<ref name=Oil />

Following the [[17 July Revolution|July 17 Revolution]], the [[Ba'ath Party (Iraqi-dominated faction)|Ba'ath Party]] assumed power in Iraq and turned to the Soviet Union as its principal supplier of arms.<ref name=Aburish>{{cite book|last=Aburish|first=Saïd|title=Saddam Hussein: The Politics of Revenge|date=2000|pages=[https://archive.org/details/saddamhusseinpol00abur/page/130 130, 143]|publisher=Bloomsbury Press|location=London|isbn=978-0-7475-4903-1|url=https://archive.org/details/saddamhusseinpol00abur/page/130}}</ref> Between 1968 and 1970 the Iraqi Army underwent a second major rearmament programme with Soviet assistance.<ref name=Aburish /> However, the Soviet government used this relationship to exert political pressure on the Ba'athist regime.<ref name=Aburish /> Iraqi officials also believed the Soviets were withholding their most sophisticated weapons from export and therefore embarked on a diversification effort to find secondary suppliers of arms, preferably in the West.<ref name=Aburish /> In 1972 the Ba'ath Party repaid France for not opposing its nationalisation of Iraqi oil by placing an order for some AML-90s.<ref name=Aburish /><ref name="trade" /> Estimates of the number initially sold and delivered to Iraq vary from 8 to 38; however, it is clear that this largely symbolic purchase was instrumental in re-igniting defence ties with France.<ref name=Aburish /> In 1974 the Iraqis placed a second order for another 20 AML-60s and 42 AML-90s, and subsequently for 2 AML-60s and 25 AML-90s.<ref name="trade" /> Most of the orders were small and timed to coincide with Iraqi requests for access to far more advanced French defence technology, but they rapidly accumulated; Panhard recorded the sale of 131 AML-60s and 101 AML-90s to Iraq between 1972 and 1980.<ref name=Iran1>{{cite book|last=Razoux|first=Pierre|editor1-last=Gibson|editor1-first=Bryan|editor2-last=Ashton|editor2-first=Nigel|title=The Iran-Iraq War: New International Perspectives|date=2012|pages=214–216|publisher=Routledge Books|location=New York|isbn=978-0-415-68524-5}}</ref>
[[File:AML-90 DM-SC-91-12078.JPEG|thumb|Iraqi AML-90 abandoned during [[Gulf War|Operation Desert Storm]].]]
In Iraqi service, AML platoons were typically attached at the brigade or battalion level and utilised for their traditional role of reconnaissance.<ref name=Jayhawk>{{cite book|last=Bourque|first=Stephen|title=Jayhawk! The VII Corps in the Persian Gulf War|date=2003|pages=136, 225|publisher=Diane Publishing Company|location=Collingdale, Pennsylvania|isbn=978-0-7567-2863-2}}</ref> A single Iraqi armoured reconnaissance platoon may have consisted of up to 8 AMLs.<ref name="AAW">''[https://books.google.com/books?id=-2vfAAAAMAAJ Armies & Weapons]''. Interconair, 1977, Volume Collected Issues 31-39, pp. 48-54.</ref> Each Iraqi Army corps and infantry division also had its own reconnaissance battalion with 46 AMLs and [[BRDM-2]] scout cars divided into two companies.<ref name=Jayhawk /> Most conventional reconnaissance duties were carried out by the AML-90s, which were valued for the size and range of their armament, while the AML-60s were relegated to secondary battlefield tasks.<ref name="AAW" />

Iraqi AMLs first saw action in [[Khuzestan Province]] during the [[Iraqi invasion of Iran (1980)|1980 invasion of Iran]].<ref name=Razoux /> Lacking adequate air cover, a number were destroyed by Iranian [[Bell AH-1 Cobra]] attack helicopters on September 28 near [[Bostan, Iran|Bostan]].<ref name=Razoux /> In 1991, AML-90s were deployed again, somewhat ineffectually, against [[United States Marine Corps]] and [[Saudi Arabian National Guard|Saudi National Guard]] troops during the [[Battle of Khafji]].<ref name="Khafji">{{cite book | last = Otto Lehrack| title = America's Battalion: Marines in the first Gulf War|edition= 2005|pages= 188–89 | publisher = The University of Alabama Press| lccn= 2004016593}}</ref> Their appearance at Khafji may have led to some initial confusion, since the armoured cars were also operated by the Saudis.<ref name="Khafji" /> Many Iraqi crews failed to take advantage of their vehicles' mobility and engaged the coalition forces from static positions until they were wiped out by artillery.<ref name="Khafji" /> During the [[Liberation of Kuwait campaign|Liberation of Kuwait]] and the subsequent coalition counter-offensive, air superiority was the deciding factor in most reconnaissance operations. The US made use of scout helicopters armed with BGM-71 TOW missiles, which frequently obliterated Iraqi AMLs at long range before they could observe or harass allied ground forces.<ref name=Safwan>{{cite book|last1=Bourque|first1=Stephen|last2=Burdan|first2=John|title=The Road to Safwan: The 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry in the 1991 Persian Gulf War|date=2007|page=121|publisher=University of North Texas Press|location=Denton, Texas|isbn=978-1-57441-232-1}}</ref><ref name=Chronicles>{{cite book|last=Lowry|first=Richard|title=The Gulf War Chronicles: A Military History of the First War with Iraq|date=2008|page=54|publisher=iUniverse, Incorporated|location=New York|isbn=978-1-60528-006-6}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|certain=yes|date=December 2017}} Others were destroyed on the ground during the first day of the coalition thrust into Kuwait, namely by US [[M1 Abrams]] tanks.<ref name=Jayhawk />

The US estimated that the Iraqi Army was operating 300 AMLs in 1990.<ref name="Benning">{{cite journal|last=Jacobson|first=Michael|title=Armor in Desert Shield|journal=Infantry Magazine|pages=33–34|publisher=US Army Infantry School|location=Fort Benning, Georgia|date=November–December 1990}}</ref> Iraq lost about half its armoured reconnaissance vehicles during the Gulf War.<ref name=cordesman99-praeger>{{cite book|last=Cordesman|first=Anthony H.|title=Iraq and the War of Sanctions: Conventional Threats and Weapons of Mass Destruction|year=1999|publisher=Praeger|location=Westport, Connecticut|isbn=978-0-275-96528-0|edition=1st published|pages=[https://archive.org/details/iraqwarofsanctio00cord/page/103 103–104]|url=https://archive.org/details/iraqwarofsanctio00cord/page/103}}</ref> A small number of AML-90s and AML-60s remained in service, although they were increasingly threatened by erratic maintenance and lack of spare parts.<ref name=cordesman99-praeger /> When a US-led coalition [[2003 invasion of Iraq|invaded Iraq in 2003]], Iraqi AMLs clashed with a contingent of American tanks attached to [[3rd Battalion, 4th Marines]] as they advanced on [[Nasiriyah]].<ref name=Gilbert>{{cite book|last=Gilbert|first=Oscar|title=Marine Corps Tank Battles in the Middle East|date=2015|pages=123–124|publisher=Casemate Publishers|location=Havertown, Pennsylvania|isbn=978-1-61200-267-5}}</ref>

====Egypt====
Egypt first encountered Israeli AML-90s in the Sinai Peninsula during the Six-Day War, where at least one platoon was deployed against Egyptian T-54 tanks on several occasions.<ref name="T-54" /> Some were captured by the defending Egyptian forces during the Israeli campaign, with individual examples being pressed into service.<ref name="Suez" /> Their performance sufficiently impressed the [[Egyptian Army]] that it later issued its own requirement for an armoured car with a turret-mounted 90&nbsp;mm gun, preferably firing [[Armour-piercing discarding sabot|discarding sabot]] projectiles for improved anti-tank purposes.<ref name="FYEO">''[https://books.google.com/books?id=zFMxAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Egypt+has+requested+bids+for+an+armored+car%22 For Your Eyes Only: an Open Intelligence Summary of Current Military Affairs]''. Tiger Publications (Amarillo, Texas), 1982, Volume Collected Issues 34-53.</ref> Bids were accepted from six European contractors (including Panhard), for the programme, although it is unclear what vehicle was adopted.<ref name="FYEO" />

===Argentina===
[[File:Panhard AML H90 (4536094723).jpg|thumb|Captured Argentine AML-90 on display at [[Bovington Tank Museum]]]]
In the lead-up to the [[Falklands War]], Argentine commanders considered that the often extremely [[bog]]gy off-road conditions in the islands were unsuitable for all of the armoured vehicles available to them. Consequently, Argentine AMX-13-105 tanks were not deployed. For on-road operations, 12 AML-90s from ''Escuadron de Exploracion Caballeria Blindada 181'' (181st Armoured Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron) and an unknown additional number from ''Escuadron de Exploracion Caballeria Blindada 10'' were stationed near [[Port Stanley]]. 

While some Panhard crews reportedly took part in the [[Battle of Wireless Ridge]],<ref>{{Citation|last=Van der Bijl|first=Nicholas|title=Argentine Forces in the Falklands|publisher=Osprey Publishing|orig-year=1992|year=2005|page=23|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=At4WkVvc7tUC&pg=PA23|isbn=978-1-85532-227-1}}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> they appear to have fought dismounted, as makeshift infantry. There is no evidence that the Panhards themselves fired a shot in anger (let alone  encountering UK [[FV101 Scorpion]]s or [[FV107 Scimitar]]s). The Panhards were captured in Stanley after the general surrender of Argentinian forces.

{{sectstub|date=April 2023}}

===El Salvador===

In the [[Salvadoran Civil War]], at least one AML-90 was destroyed by [[Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front|FMLN]] insurgents with [[rifle grenade]]s and an [[M67 recoilless rifle]].<ref name="Retina">{{cite book |last=John Guzman|title=Reflections behind the Retina|edition= 2011|pages= 1–612 |publisher=Xlibris Corporation|isbn= 978-1-4653-0943-3|year=2011}}{{page needed|date=October 2018}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|certain=yes|date=December 2017}}<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laXQnJfpTlc&ab_channel=ThamesTv | title=El Salvador Civil War &#124; Military Junta &#124; Salvadoran Civil War &#124; TV Eye &#124; 1981 | website=[[YouTube]] | date=2 August 2018 }}</ref>

{{sectstub|date=April 2023}}

===Sub-Saharan Africa===
In 1987, during the [[Toyota War]], [[Chadian National Armed Forces|FANT]]'s use of swift wheeled vehicles, including AML-90s, allowed Chadian forces to break through combined arms formations and cause severe damage before the slower Libyan tanks could track or engage their targets. The Panhards, deployed in concert with [[MILAN]] missile teams at strategic hill junctures, frequently ambushed [[T-54/55|T-55s]] at a range of under three hundred metres.<ref name="Azevedo">{{cite book |last=Mario J. Azevedo|title=The Roots of Violence: A History of War in Chad|url=https://archive.org/details/rootsviolencehis00azev|url-access=limited|edition=1998|page=[https://archive.org/details/rootsviolencehis00azev/page/n101 90] |publisher=Gordon and Breach Publishers|isbn=978-90-5699-583-6|year=1998}}</ref>

In mid-December 2010, AMLs manned by [[Laurent Gbagbo]]'s supporters were used to intimidate [[Ivory Coast|Ivorian]] civilians in [[Abidjan]] and the western countryside.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/doc/doc1097345.pdf |title=Request for authorisation of an investigation pursuant to article 15. ICC-02/11-3. Case: Situation: Situation in the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire |date=23 June 2011 |website=www.icc-cpi.int |access-date=4 August 2021 |archive-date=16 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316082941/https://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/doc/doc1097345.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The ''Ecole de Formation et d'Application des Troupes Blindées'', at [[Mbanza-Ngungu]] in the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], was originally established by French Military Cooperation Mission to instruct African AML crews. Today, the academy can host 70 trainees; ten African armies are currently participating in the program.<ref name="Rouvez1994">{{cite book|author=Alain Rouvez|title=Disconsolate Empires: French, British and Belgian Military Involvement in Post-Colonial Sub-Saharan Africa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JWWdHZKB4fEC&pg=PA172|access-date=25 July 2013|date=1 January 1994|publisher=University Press of America|isbn=978-0-8191-9643-9|pages=172–174}}</ref>

==Variants==
[[File:Panhard AML diagram.PNG|thumb|AML variants on a U.S. military recognition plate. From left to right: AML-60 (HE 60-7), AML-20 (H-20), and AML-90 (H-90)]]

===AML-60===
Known more formally as the ''AML HE 60-7'', or by its manufacturer's code ''AML-245B'', the AML-60 was Panhard's initial production model and included a rounded turret with twin 7.62mm machine guns on the left and a breech-loaded 60&nbsp;mm (2.36 in.) mortar on the right, with 3,800 stored rounds of 7.62mm ammunition and 43 to 53 mortar projectiles, respectively.<ref name="Compendium" /> The mortar can still be muzzle loaded from outside the vehicle, but is unique in its opening breech locked by a falling block much like direct fire artillery. It has an elevation of +80° and a depression of −15°.<ref name="Jane3">{{cite book |last=Pretty|first=Ronald|title=Jane's Weapon Systems, 1979–80|year=1980|edition=1979|pages=312–731 |publisher=Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd|isbn=978-0-531-03299-2}}</ref> Two types of mortars are available: a Hotchkiss-Brandt CM60A1 or, in later production models, a Cloche Spéciale (CS) 60 designed by the French government's ''Direction technique des armements terrestres'' (DTAT).<ref name="Jane3" /> The ergonomic dimensions of the CS 60's ammunition allow ten more mortar bombs to carried for a total of 53, as opposed to the CM60A1's 43. Both can be fired on a flat trajectory and are effective at no more than {{Convert|300|m|ft|abbr=on}} in the direct role, or {{Convert|1.7|km|mi|abbr=on}} in the indirect role.<ref name="Jane3" /> Separate combat and command variants of the AML HE 60-7 turrets were manufactured, the latter being fitted with additional radio equipment and therefore possessing comparatively limited stowage.<ref name="Jane3" /> The number of stored ammunition is reduced to 32 mortar bombs and 3,200 7.62mm rounds, respectively.<ref name="Compendium" />

An AML-60's crew commander acquires targets, directs the gunner, and makes a series of ranging and ordnance calculations to ascertain firing angles.<ref name="Mannall" /> Sighting is optical, and carried out through an M112/3 combined monocular telescope and binocular periscope.<ref name="Jane3" /> Elevation aiming control is linked to the mortar but provision made for manual scanning. In late production models, the micrometre markings on the sights could be illuminated for night firing.<ref name="Jane3" />

===AML 60-20===
Known as the ''AML HE 60-20'', the AML 60-20 replaced both co-axial 7.62mm machine guns with an M621 20&nbsp;mm [[autocannon]] with 500 stored rounds.<ref name="Compendium" /> The 20&nbsp;mm autocannon was based on the [[MG 151 cannon|MG 151]] and has an elevation of +50° and a depression of −8°, allowing it to engage low-flying aircraft as necessary.<ref name="AFV39" /> It fires both armour-piercing and high-explosive rounds with a muzzle velocity of {{Convert|1040|m/s|ft/s|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Jane3" /> An optional 7.62mm pintle-mounted machine gun can be mounted on the turret roof as necessary, although only 1,000 rounds of ammunition may be stored.<ref name="Jane3" />

===AML 60-20 Serval===
[[File:AML-60-20Serval crop.PNG|thumb|Panhard AML 60-20 Serval of the [[Niger Armed Forces]] on parade. Note the lack of any co-axial armament on the turret face.]]

The AML-60-20 Serval mated an AML-60 chassis to the much larger and more sophisticated ''Serval'' turret designed by Hispano-Suiza CNMP, with considerable improvements to the firepower, sights, and ammunition stowage of the original AML 60-20 concept.<ref name="Jane3" /> Two types of 20&nbsp;mm autocannon were offered: the M693, or the Oerlikon KAD B-16 ([[Hispano-Suiza HS.820]]).<ref name="Compendium" /> The original CS DTAT or CM60A1 mortars were replaced by the long-barelled [[Brandt 60&nbsp;mm LR Gun-mortar|Brandt 60&nbsp;mm LR gun-mortar]], which more than doubled the range of the main armament.<ref name="Jane3" /> The Brandt LR also fired a unique armour-piercing projectile.<ref name="Jane5">{{cite book |last=Christopher F. Foss|title=Jane's Armour and Artillery|edition=1984|pages=768–770 |publisher=Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd|isbn=978-0-354-01022-1|year=1976}}</ref> Due to interior space taken up by the larger mortar, the autocannon and a 7.62mm machine gun were shifted to a new position at the rear of the turret.<ref name="Jane3" />

AML 60-20 Servals were the first AML-60 variants to be fitted with an electrical [[fire-control system]] developed specifically for gun-mortars.<ref name="Jane4">{{cite book |last=Pretty|first=Ronald|title=Jane's Weapon Systems, 1983–84|year=1983|edition=1983|pages=269–713 |publisher=Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd|isbn=978-0-7106-0776-8}}</ref> The apparatus consisted of two separate control units, one for the gunner and commander, and a new rangefinder.<ref name="Jane4" /> It also included an inclinometer and was designed to allow the main armament to be fired while the AML was parked on sloping ground, without compromising accuracy. A gunner could make the appropriate corrections to bearing aim, based on the altitude according to the horizontal.<ref name="Jane4" />

===AML 60-12===
[[File:Iraqi AML-60-20.jpg|thumb|AML 60-12 in Iraq, late 1970s.]]
Known as the ''AML HE 60-12'', the AML 60-12 was identical in every manner to the AML 60-20 but replaced the 20&nbsp;mm autocannon with a single 12.7mm heavy machine gun. Its turret had an ammunition capacity of 1,200 rounds of 12.7mm in 12 boxes of 100 rounds and 41 rounds of 60 mm.<ref name="Jane3" />

===AML-90===
Formally known as the ''AML H-90'', or by its manufacturer's code ''AML-245C'', the AML-90 was designed for carrying out [[rearguard]] duties and substituting for the heavier tanks and armoured fighting vehicles deployed in a more linear fashion at the front.<ref name="Knox2" /> Its major feature was its DEFA low-pressure 90&nbsp;mm rifled gun, which permitted the anti-tank and reconnaissance elements of French territorial units to be combined into a new component capable of knocking out the heaviest vehicle likely to be ranged against it, the Soviet [[ASU-57]] and [[ASU-85]].<ref name="Orange" /> This was a direct response to Soviet airborne doctrine—Moscow's tacticians then attached great significance to the deployment of [[Soviet Airborne Forces|paratroopers]], with their own artillery and armour, deep behind enemy lines.<ref name="Glantz">{{cite journal|title=The Soviet Airborne Experience |last=Glantz|first=David|url=http://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a153124.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002070433/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a153124.pdf|url-status=live|archive-date=October 2, 2016|location=Fort Leavenworth, Kansas|publisher=Combat Studies Institute|year=1984|access-date=28 September 2016}}</ref>

The DEFA D921 was the first 90&nbsp;mm low-pressure gun to be mass-produced in France.<ref name="Ogorkiewicz3">{{cite book |last=Ogorkiewicz|first=Richard|title=Technology of tanks, Volume 1|edition=1991|pages=70–71 |publisher=Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd|isbn=978-0-7106-0595-5|date=July 1991}}</ref> It was specifically designed for vehicles weighing under ten tonnes in mind, and the successful mating of such a large calibre weapon on the five tonne AML chassis was then considered a major engineering achievement.<ref name="Auto" /> This made an AML-90 exceptionally well-armed in proportion to its weight, and offered the advantage of easier recoil loads over conventional tank cannon.<ref name="Tank" /> The weapon was developed by the ''Etablissement d'Etudes et de Fabrications d'Armement de Bourges'' (EFAB) in the 1950s and partly modelled after the [[Mecar]] series of lightweight 90&nbsp;mm KEnerga guns from Belgium.<ref name="Ogorkiewicz3" /> Unlike the Belgian guns however, the DEFA D921 lacked a smoothbore barrel, instead utilising shallow rifling with a rather slow twist to impart a low rate of spin to the discharging projectile.<ref name="Ogorkiewicz3" /> Its ammunition was also fin-stabilised, but improved on the Mecar ammunition by incorporating the fins as a direct extension of the individual shell, making it much shorter.<ref name="Ogorkiewicz3" />

As mounted on the AML-90, the D921 has an elevation of +15° and a depression of −8°.<ref name="Jane3" /> It is provided with a co-axial 7.62mm machine gun to the left of the main armament. The turret is traversed by rotating the gunner's handwheels, which are not power assisted. Cranking the turret through a full 360° takes approximately twenty-five seconds.<ref name="Jane3" /> A total of 20 90&nbsp;mm shells and 2,400 rounds of machine gun ammunition are carried. The 90&nbsp;mm high-explosive anti-tank round possesses a muzzle velocity of {{convert|750|m/s|ft/s|abbr=on}} and will penetrate {{convert|320|mm|in|abbr=on}} of armour at an incidence of 0°, or {{convert|120|mm|in|abbr=on}} of armour at 60°.<ref name="Jane2" /> The high-explosive round has a muzzle velocity of {{convert|650|m/s|ft/s|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Jane3" /> These rather low velocity performances, although suitable for close combat, make hit probability poor at extended ranges and proved to be a serious handicap when fighting tanks.<ref name="Grove">{{cite web|title=Ratel teen tenk en|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |url=http://www.samagte.co.za/weermag/hc/grove.html |url-status=dead|location=Port Elizabeth|publisher=International Veterans' Association/South African Forces Club|date=2011
|access-date=20 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728040847/http://www.samagte.co.za/weermag/hc/grove.html|archive-date=28 July 2012}}</ref> Combat experience during the [[South African Border War]] and the [[Six-Day War]] proved that the AML was decisively outranged by both the [[T-34]]/85<ref name="Grove" /> and the [[M48 Patton]], respectively.<ref name="Geller">{{cite book |last=Margolis|first=Jonathan|title=The secret life of Uri Geller|edition=2013|pages=147–148 |publisher=Watkins Publishing Ltd|isbn=978-1-78028-761-4|year=2013}}</ref> Its rather austere fire control, with optical ranging based on the crew commander's estimates, was also problematic.<ref name="Jane3" /> The vehicle is unable to fire on the move, since its transmission cannot absorb the recoil of such a large gun while in forward motion and suffers excessive wear as a result.<ref name="JCH">''[https://books.google.com/books?id=-dY-AQAAIAAJ&q=HEAT+gelaai South African Journal for Contemporary History, Volume 31]''. Sun Media (Bloemfontein), 2006. pp. 361–362.</ref> Nevertheless, during at least three conflicts the AML proved capable of knocking out main battle tanks, often by attacking from the flank or rear.<ref name="Davis" /><ref name="T-54" /><ref name="Heitman2">Heitman, Helmoed-Römer. ''South African Arms and Armour – A concise guide to armaments of the South African Army, Navy, and Air Force.'' Struik Publishers 1988. {{ISBN|0-86977-637-1}} p 44–45.</ref> The heaviest armour destroyed by an AML-90 was likely a Libyan [[T-62]] during the [[Toyota War]], in March 1988.<ref name="Davis" />

The D921 recoils approximately 58&nbsp;cm<ref name="Jane3" /> and is then returned to the firing position by a hydropneumatic recuperator.<ref name="Hesom">{{cite book |last=Hesom |first=Ross|title=From Boys to Men: A Victim of Conscription|edition=2009|pages=147–148 |publisher=Brelan Books|isbn=978-0-9812079-0-2|year=2009}}</ref> It is fitted with a double-baffle muzzle brake which reduces the magnitude of the firing impulses and consequently, the average recoil forces. However, the deflection of propellant gases rearward and the resulting overpressure may cause whiplash to the crew.<ref name="Ogorkiewicz3" /> During runout the breech is opened and an empty shell casing ejected; the breech then remains open for reloading.<ref name="Mannall" />

===AML-90 Lynx===
[[File:Lynx 90 turret detailed differences.PNG|thumb|''Top'': Lynx 90 turret incorporating a new commander's cupola, sights, searchlight, and a laser rangefinder.<br />''Bottom'': Original H-90 turret.]]

Also known as the ''AML D-90 Lynx'',<ref name="trade" /> the AML-90 Lynx was a heavily upgraded and modernised AML-90 fitted with a sophisticated turret and ranging system.<ref name="Compendium" /> Like the H-90, the D-90 Lynx turret mounted the same D921 90&nbsp;mm gun on the right and a co-axial 7.62mm machine gun on the left. The main armament now had an improved elevation gear and could be elevated from −8° to +35°.<ref name="ADJ1">''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ivYxAQAAIAAJ African Defence Journal, Issues 113–124]''. The Journal, 1990, Collected Issues 113–124. pp. 112–113.</ref> Other modifications included the replacement of the unlit optical sights with TJN2-90 combined day/night sights.<ref name="ADJ1" /> The new sights were designed around a light intensifier tube with automatic gain control to enable sighting in the darkness without the need for artificial illumination, and had a range of nearly {{Convert|2|km|mi|abbr=on}}. They could be fitted with additional features such as slope compensation or tachometry facilities.<ref name="Jane4" /> A menagerie of other sights and sighting equipment were also offered with the AML-90 Lynx for export customers, including the same CANASTA night sights package and electronics suite as fitted to the [[AMX-10RC]].<ref name="ADJ2">''[https://books.google.com/books?id=pwAyAQAAIAAJ&q=Canasta African Defence Journal, Issues 5–16]''. The Journal, 1981, Collected Issues 5–16. pp. 54–59.</ref> The CANASTA system included a low-light television camera and display units for the AML's gunner and commander, along with a moving electronic reticle with sight angle corrections.<ref name="Jane3" /> This somewhat compensated for low hit probability from the first 90&nbsp;mm round at long range, allowing for the automatic engagement of moving targets.<ref name="ADJ2" />

One of the defining characteristics of the AML-90 Lynx was the large searchlight mounted co-axially with its 90&nbsp;mm gun, a domed commander's cupola with vision blocks reminiscent of the Eland Mk7, and a boxlike [[laser rangefinder]] on the [[gun mantlet]].<ref name="Jane5" /> Two types of French laser rangefinders were available as standard, although several foreign designs such as the Avimo LV3 could also be fitted: the TCV 107 and the TCV 29.<ref name="Jane5" /><ref name="ADJ2" /> Both rangefinders automatically calculate the range to target and feed this information to the crew commander, eliminating the need for rough estimation as before.<ref name="Jane3" />

AML-90 Lynxes were offered with a variety of new power plants, namely a Peugeot XD 3T diesel engine developing 71&nbsp;kW (95&nbsp;hp) for an extended range of {{Convert|1000|km|mi|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Compendium" /><ref name="Jane1984AA" /> In 1979, one AML-90 Lynx prototype was showcased with a [[Mercedes-Benz OM617]] developing 86&nbsp;kW (115&nbsp;hp) but it remains unclear if this model entered production.<ref name="ADJ2" /> The armament as fitted to the D-90 Lynx turret could be also configured greatly, including the modification of the D921 gun to fire [[APFSDS]] ammunition with a muzzle velocity of {{Convert|1350|m/s|ft/s|abbr=on}},<ref name="Tank" /> or its replacement with the considerably more powerful Cockerill Mk. III medium pressure 90&nbsp;mm gun as mounted on the [[EE-9 Cascavel]].<ref name="Jane5" /> Many of these turrets were equipped with hydraulic traverse, eliminating the necessity for manual operation. Traversing a powered Lynx turret through a full 360° takes less than fifteen seconds.<ref name="Jane3" />

The first export sales of the AML-90 Lynx were to Burundi, which ordered 12 in 1982.<ref name="trade" /> Morocco purchased 20 in 1988, and another 23 were accepted by the [[Chadian National Armed Forces]] (FANT) as military aid during the final stage of the Chadian–Libyan conflict.<ref name="ADJ3">''[https://books.google.com/books?id=6hEyAQAAIAAJ African Defence Journal, Issues 78–88]''. The Journal, 1987, Collected Issues 78–88. pp. 203–204.</ref> Small quantities were also donated by the French government to Senegal, Togo, and Guinea.<ref name="trade" /><ref name="Conakry">{{cite news|title=Guinée: la tentative de putsch souligne les divisions de l'armée|last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=http://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2008/12/23/512148-guinee-tentative-putsch-souligne-divisions-armee.html|work=Ladepeche|location=Toulouse|date=23 December 2008|access-date=28 September 2016}}</ref> An undisclosed number of Lebanese and Kenyan AML-90s have been upgraded with Lynx turrets as well.<ref name="Tripoli" /><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/How+war+boosts+Kenyas+regional+global+clout+/-/2558/1276220/-/muxcupz/-/index.html |title=How war boosts Kenya's regional, global clout |date=January 23, 2012 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120123222050/http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/How+war+boosts+Kenyas+regional+global+clout+/-/2558/1276220/-/muxcupz/-/index.html |archive-date=23 January 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===AML S530===
Designed as a [[self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon]], the AML S530 was developed solely for export and is operated by the [[Venezuelan Army]].<ref name="JAD" /> It carries twin M621 20&nbsp;mm autocannon, with 600 stored rounds.<ref name="Compendium" /> The autocannons have an elevation of +70° and a depression of −10°.<ref name="Jane3" /> Ranging is optical and carried out by a roof-mounted periscopic sight very similar to that installed on the AML HE 60-7.<ref name="JAD" /> The sight has been modified for anti-aircraft purposes and has a vertical field of view of 20°. It has a sun filter, a collimator with an adjustable illumination feature for night firing, an adjustable display lead for tracking fast or slow moving targets and aircraft either flying horizontally or diving, and automatic fire range estimation effective up to {{Convert|1.3|km|mi|abbr=on}}.<ref name="JAD" /> More specialised anti-aircraft sights, as well as sights designed solely for engaging ground targets, could also be installed when necessary.<ref name="JAD" /> Both 20&nbsp;mm guns are equipped with an ammunition feed mechanism storing 260 rounds each. They can fired either on semi-automatic, fully automatic, or in short bursts, with a cyclic rate of fire of 750 rounds per minute per barrel. One barrel may also be selected at a time.<ref name="JAD" /> The ammunition feed is housed in the turret's elevating module, and fed from an ammunition bin in the turret basket.<ref name="Jane3" /> The 20&nbsp;mm armour-piercing round possesses a muzzle velocity of 1,000&nbsp;m/s and will penetrate 23&nbsp;mm of armour at an incidence of 0°. The high explosive and incendiary rounds have a muzzle velocity of {{Convert|1026|m/s|ft/s|abbr=on}}.<ref name="JAD" />

An AML S530 prototype was first showcased at [[Eurosatory|Satory]] in 1971 and twelve were immediately ordered by Venezuela.<ref name="JAD" /> They were produced and delivered by 1973, but no further export sales followed.<ref name="trade" /> A smaller, more rounded variant of the same S530 turret with improved sights was later mounted on an [[ERC 90 Sagaie]] chassis for a Gabonese military requirement.<ref name="JAD" />

===AML-20===
[[File:Panhard AML-20 UNIFIL1.jpg|thumb|Irish AML-20 with the Denel LCT-20 turret. The armament depicted is a South African copy of the M693, the [[Denel Land Systems GI-2|GI-2]].]]

The ''AML H-20'' had a turret with full power traverse and elevation and was armed with a single 20&nbsp;mm M693 F2 autocannon; a 7.62mm machine gun was also mounted co-axially with the main armament and a similar weapon could be fitted to the turret roof for anti-aircraft defence.<ref name="Jane1984AA" /> The M693 could be elevated from −8° to +50°.<ref name="Jane3" /> Unlike the M621 mounted on the AML 60-20 and AML S530, this weapon employed cartridges with mechanical priming and was paired to a dual-feed ammunition supply system, allowing more than one type of ammunition to be loaded at once, with gunners being able to switch between the two.<ref name="Jane3" /> It can fire all Hispano-Suiza HS.820 20&nbsp;mm rounds as well as a specially developed French Type 693 sub-calibre armour-piercing round.<ref name="Jane3" /> The armour-piercing ammunition will kill any other light armoured car at ranges of up to {{Convert|1|km|mi|abbr=on}}, and also damage the sides of an older main battle tank.<ref name="Jane3" /> Like the M621 single shots, limited bursts, or continuous bursts can be fired.<ref name="Jane3" />

Two separate turrets were offered for the AML-20: the French TL-120 SO by the ''Societe d'Applications des Machines Motrices'' (SAMM), and the South African LCT-20 by [[Denel Land Systems]], which was originally designed for the [[Ratel IFV|Ratel-20]] infantry fighting vehicle.<ref name="Compendium" /><ref name="Denel">{{cite web|title=LCT-20mm – LIW Compact Turret|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=http://www.denel.co.za/Landsystems/LS_TurretsLCT20.pdf|location=Centurion
|publisher=[[Denel Land Systems]]|date=2004|access-date=20 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050903151002/http://www.denel.co.za/Landsystems/LS_TurretsLCT20.pdf|archive-date=3 September 2005}}</ref> The TL-120 SO turret was open-topped and 1,000 rounds of 20&nbsp;mm ammunition were carried.<ref name="Compendium" /> It was one of the most well-protected turrets fitted to the AML chassis to date, with a maximum armour plate thickness of 20&nbsp;mm.<ref name="Jane3" /> This turret was also hydraulically powered and could be rotated through a full 360° in ten seconds or less.<ref name="Jane3" /> The gunner's optical sights were adopted from the AML S530 and a secondary periscope optimised specifically for anti-aircraft purposes also fitted.<ref name="Jane3" /> No sights were provided for the crew commander, leaving the gunner responsible for acquiring targets.<ref name="Jane1984AA" />

The LCT-20 turret was considerably more sophisticated, incorporating a range of night vision equipment and a laser rangefinder.<ref name="Denel" /> About 300 rounds of 20&nbsp;mm and 1,000 rounds of ready use 7.62mm ammunition were carried.<ref name="Denel" /> The LCT-20 was not open-topped, although for observation purposes there was a domed cupola with four direct observation windows. Denel sights provided for both the gunner and commander were effective up to {{Convert|4|km|mi|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Denel" />

===AML-30===
A prototype trialled during early 1970s, the ''AML H-30'' mated an AML-90 chassis and turret to a single 30&nbsp;mm Hispano-Suiza HS.831 anti-aircraft gun<ref name="AFV39" /> and was the first AML to be offered with powered turret controls.<ref name="Jane3" /> The 30&nbsp;mm cannon could be fired on semiautomatic, in bursts, or fully automatic. A co-axial 7.62mm machine gun could be mounted to the left of the main armament. Stored ammunition was 200 30&nbsp;mm rounds, and 2,200 7.62mm rounds for the machine gun.<ref name="Jane3" />

===AML NA-2===
Due to the increasing obsolescence of low pressure, direct fire weapons in the anti-tank role, Panhard manufactured at least one dedicated [[anti-tank guided missile]] carrier variant of the AML-90—the same chassis with its turret removed and replaced by a launching system for four [[SS.11]] or two [[SS.12/AS.12]] missiles. Two 7.62mm machine guns were mounted to the centre of the new system for self-defence.<ref name="AFV39" />

===Other variants===
[[File:0770 - Moskau 2015 - Panzermuseum Kubinka (26308742762).jpg|thumb|A Panhard AML-90 (left) and an Eland (right) at the [[Kubinka Tank Museum]].]]
Over a dozen variants of the Panhard AML were developed to meet a wide range of mission requirements, including border patrol, airfield security, light raiding duties, and liaison purposes.<ref name="Compendium" /> At some point Panhard developed four other vehicles for these roles based on the AML chassis but designated them ''EPF'', ''EPA'', ''ERA'', and ''EPR'', respectively.<ref name="Compendium" /> The liaison model, the EPR, was turretless and carried only a ring-mounted 12.7mm heavy machine gun. The ERA marketed for the role of raiding and harassing larger armoured or mechanised forces was similar to the AML-20, but could also carry a mount for six [[MILAN]] missiles in place of the 20&nbsp;mm autocannon. The EPF and EPA carried up to three 7.62mm general-purpose machine guns apiece. Yet another variant, the AML ''Eclairage'', was identical to the AML-20 and ERA.<ref name="Compendium" />

The AML-30 and AML-90 spawned amphibious models, which bore propellers and form-fitting, watertight boxes over their hulls. These were then inflated with [[polyurethane]], allowing the armoured car to float.<ref name="Jane2" /> The polyurethane lining had the advantage of being self-extinguishing if ignited by flame, and of providing a detonation point for a hollow charge shell before it could reach the armour plate.<ref name="Jane3" /> Amphibious AMLs were propelled through the water at {{Convert|7|km/h|mi/h|abbr=on}} and were steered by their front wheels.<ref name="Jane2" /> The amphibious box increased the weight of the chassis by about ten percent.<ref name="Jane3" />

Individual armies have also retrofitted existing AMLs with new armament adopted from other armoured vehicles, such as the complete turret and 30&nbsp;mm [[RARDEN]] autocannon of the [[FV107 Scimitar]] light tank.<ref name="Wheels2">{{cite journal |last=Brown |first=Peter |title=Wheeled armor in Ireland |journal=Armored Car: The Wheeled Fighting Vehicle Journal |pages=7–8 |publisher=David Haugh Publisher |location=Salem, Oregon |date=August 1994}}</ref>

The [[Eland Mk7]] is an AML derivative built under licence in South Africa with a number of major modifications.<ref name="Heitman2" /> Although the vehicle fulfills a similar role to its Panhard counterpart, it differs both in design and construction. The engine at the rear of the Eland is water-cooled whilst the French vehicle's engine is air-cooled, necessitating a different rear hull.<ref name=Baz /> An Eland's hull is also somewhat longer.<ref name="Heitman2" />

Several companies currently offer upgrades or comprehensive rebuild packages for AMLs, particularly with regards to the elderly Panhard Model 4 HD engine, for which spare parts are difficult and expensive to source.<ref name="Wheels2" /> Saymar, an Israeli firm, has proposed replacing it with a two-litre Toyota diesel engine developing 76&nbsp;kW (102&nbsp;hp).<ref name="Coat">{{cite web|title=Toyota Motor Corp|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=http://coat.ncf.ca/P4C/67/40-41.pdf|location=Ottawa
|publisher=Coalition To Oppose The Arms Trade (Canadian)|date=2012|access-date=20 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805223752/http://coat.ncf.ca/P4C/67/40-41.pdf|archive-date=5 August 2016}}</ref> Another extensive AML modernisation programme is being marketed by a subsidiary of the [[Military Industries Corporation (Saudi Arabia)|Saudi Military Industries Corporation]].<ref name="Focus">{{cite web|title=Eurosatory 2016 – Regional Focus: Middle East and Africa [ES2016D1]|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=http://www.janes.com/article/61175/regional-focus-middle-east-and-africa-es2016d1|location=London
|publisher=Jane's Information Group|date=13 June 2016|access-date=29 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160614120441/http://www.janes.com/article/61175/regional-focus-middle-east-and-africa-es2016d1|archive-date=14 June 2016}}</ref> Overhauled Saudi AML engines are supported on a horizontal sliding frame, allowing them to be replaced by a trained maintenance team in twenty minutes.<ref name="AVF" />

==Operators==
{{about|operators of the Panhard AML|operators of the South African variant|Eland armoured car#Operators|section=yes}}

[[File:Panhard AML operators.png|thumb|300px|Map of Panhard AML operators in blue, with former operators in red and operators of the related Eland Mk7 in teal]]
[[File:Irish troops UNMIL.jpg|thumb|[[UNMIL]] peacekeepers on patrol with an AML-90 in [[Liberia]], July 2006.]]

===Current operators===
<!--READ FIRST: This section is for cited entries only. Please do not add entries into this list without a citation from a reliable source. All entries without a citation will be removed. Thank you.-->
* {{flag|Algeria}}: 54 AML-60 received in 1965.<ref name=trade /> All modernized in 2018.<ref name="BCL">{{cite web|title=TLa BCL présente des systèmes produits localement pour la surveillance des frontières|last=Kharief|first=Akram|url=https://www.menadefense.net/la-bcl-presente-des-systemes-produits-localement-pour-la-surveillance-des-frontieres/|location=Algiers|publisher=MENA Defense|date=30 April 2018|access-date=6 February 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241005034323/https://www.menadefense.net/la-bcl-presente-des-systemes-produits-localement-pour-la-surveillance-des-frontieres/|archive-date=5 October 2024}}</ref>
* {{flag|Argentina}}: 50 AML-90 received between 1969-71.<ref name=trade />
* {{flag|Bahrain}}: 22 AML-90 operational in 2024.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://heb.inss.org.il/uploadImages/Bahrain20160103.pdf |title=Bahrain |publisher=Institute for National Security Studies |access-date=28 July 2016 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160728230034/http://heb.inss.org.il/uploadImages/Bahrain20160103.pdf |archive-date=28 July 2016 }}</ref><ref name="IISS 2024">{{cite book |last1=International Institute for Strategic Studies |title=The Military Balance 2024 |date=2024 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-040-05115-3 |language=en |ref={{SfnRef|IISS|2024}} |author1-link=International Institute for Strategic Studies }}</ref>
* {{flag|Burkina Faso}}: 19 AML-60 and AML-90<ref name=trade />
* {{flag|Burundi}}: 6 AML-60 and 12 AML-90.{{sfn|The Military Balance 2021|p=453}} 30 AML-60 and AML-90 received between 1966-83.<ref name=trade />
* {{flag|Cameroon}}: 31 AML-90;{{sfn|The Military Balance 2021|p=455}} ex-[[Bosnian Ground Forces|Bosnian Army]]<ref name=trade />
* {{flag|Chad}}: 132 AML-60 and AML-90<ref name="IISS 2024"/>
* {{flag|Democratic Republic of the Congo}}: up to 17 AML-60 and 14 AML-90.<ref name="IISS 2024"/>
* {{flag|Djibouti}}: 4 AML-60 in 2024.<ref name="IISS 2024"/> Up to 24 were received in 1979.<ref name="Red">{{cite web|url=http://csis.org/files/media/csis/pubs/9309_yemen&redseamilbal.pdf |title=The Military Balance and Arms Sales in Yemen and the Red Sea States: 1986–1992 |publisher=Center for Strategic and International Studies |access-date=28 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100310233116/http://csis.org/files/media/csis/pubs/9309_yemen%26redseamilbal.pdf |archive-date=10 March 2010 }}</ref><ref name=trade />
* {{flag|Ecuador}}: 27 AML-60 and AML-90.<ref name=trade /><ref name=WDA1993>{{cite journal|editor-last=Bonsignore|editor-first=Ezio|title=World Defence Almanac 1992–93: The Balance of Military Power|journal=World Defence Almanac: The Balance of Military Power|date=1993|pages=51–52, 200|publisher=Monch Publishing Group|location=Bonn|issn=0722-3226}}</ref> All modernized in 2018 and 2020.<ref name="Saumeth">{{cite news |title=Ecuador recibe sus M113 y AML-90 modernizados |last=Saumeth |first=Erich |url=https://www.infodefensa.com/texto-diario/mostrar/3073037/ecuador-recibe-m113-aml-90-modernizados |work=Infodefensa |location=Madrid |date=20 June 2018 |access-date=6 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250206184750/https://www.infodefensa.com/texto-diario/mostrar/3073037/ecuador-recibe-m113-aml-90-modernizados |archive-date=6 February 2025}}</ref><ref name="Saumeth2">{{cite news |title=Ecuador avanza en la modernización de sus vehículos blindados |last=Saumeth |first=Erich |url=https://www.infodefensa.com/texto-diario/mostrar/3125925/ecuador-avanza-modernizacion-vehiculos-blindados |work=Infodefensa |location=Madrid |date=7 September 2020 |access-date=6 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250206191415/https://www.infodefensa.com/texto-diario/mostrar/3125925/ecuador-avanza-modernizacion-vehiculos-blindados |archive-date=6 February 2025}}</ref>
* {{flag|El Salvador}}: 6 AML-90 modernized by 2022.<ref name="Montes">{{cite news |title=The Renovation of the Cavalry Regiment of El Salvador |last=Montes |first=Julio |url=https://smallarmsreview.com/mexico-and-the-renovation-of-the-cavalry-regiment-of-el-salvador/ |work=Small Arms Review |location=Henderson, Nevada |date=24 November 2022 |access-date=6 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221212030944/https://smallarmsreview.com/mexico-and-the-renovation-of-the-cavalry-regiment-of-el-salvador/ |archive-date=12 December 2022}}</ref> Originally 10 were in service.<ref name=WDA1993 />
* {{flag|Gabon}}: 24 AML-60 and AML-90<ref name="IISS 2024"/>
* {{flag|Guinea}}: 2 AML-90 Lynx received in 1990 for use in the Presidential Guard.<ref name="IISS 2024"/><ref name=trade />
* {{flag|Kenya}}: 82 AML-60 and AML-90;<ref name="IISS 2024"/> refurbished by an Israeli firm in 2007.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Wezeman |last=Siemon T. |url=http://www.nonproliferation.eu/documents/other/siemontwezeman4e9eb5e5806bd.pdf |title=Israeli arms transfers to sub-Saharan Africa |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215174232/http://www.nonproliferation.eu/documents/other/siemontwezeman4e9eb5e5806bd.pdf |archive-date=15 December 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{flag|Lebanon}}: 55 AML-90.<ref name="IISS 2024"/> 74 AML-90 originally in service.<ref name=trade />
* {{flag|Lesotho}}: 4 AML-90<ref name="IISS 2024"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=18810:lesotho-defence-force-gets-new-chief&catid=50:Land&Itemid=105|title=Lesotho defence force gets new chief|author=Guy Martin|date=September 2011 |access-date=15 November 2014}}</ref>
* {{flag|Myanmar}}: 50 AML-90<ref name="IISS 2024"/><ref name="deagel">{{Cite web |url=http://www.deagel.com/Wheeled-Armored-Fighting-Vehicles/Panhard-AML_a000705001.aspx |title=Panhard AML |date=October 28, 2014 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028045023/http://www.deagel.com/Wheeled-Armored-Fighting-Vehicles/Panhard-AML_a000705001.aspx |archive-date=28 October 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=Viet>{{cite web|url=http://songlo.com/?type=portal&tab=detail&menuID=22&catID=97&id=558&sessionid=68106089 |title=Sơ lược về lực lượng thiết giáp của Lục quân Myanmar |publisher=Song Lo |date=2009-01-31 |access-date=2015-09-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150922143516/http://songlo.com/?type=portal&tab=detail&menuID=22&catID=97&id=558&sessionid=68106089 |archive-date=September 22, 2015 }}</ref>
* {{flag|Mauritania}}: 39 AML-90 and 20 AML-60<ref name=trade /><ref name="IISS 2024"/>
* {{flag|Morocco}}: 38 AML-60 and 190 AML-90<ref name="IISS 2024"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.inss.org.il/uploadImages/Morocco20160103.pdf |title=Morocco |publisher=Institute for National Security Studies |access-date=28 July 2016 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160728224702/http://www.inss.org.il/uploadImages/Morocco20160103.pdf |archive-date=28 July 2016 }}</ref>
* {{flag|Niger}}: 35 AML-20 and AML-60 and 90 AML-90 operational as of 2024.<ref name="IISS 2024"/> 56 AML-60 and AML-90 received between 1983-91.<ref name=trade />
* {{flag|Nigeria}}: 137<ref name=trade /> Some in service with the Nigerian Armoured Corps in 2024.<ref name="Shuaibu">{{cite news |title=Inadequate Fighting Equipment Worries Retiring Armoured Corps General in Bauchi |last=Shuaibu |first=Mohammed |url=https://247ureports.com/2024/06/inadequate-fighting-equipment-worries-retiring-armoured-corps-generals-in-bauchi/ |work=247 Ureports |location=Nanka, Nigeria |date=8 June 2024 |access-date=1 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240628105318/https://247ureports.com/2024/06/inadequate-fighting-equipment-worries-retiring-armoured-corps-generals-in-bauchi/ |archive-date=28 June 2024}}</ref>
* {{flag|Rwanda}}: 15<ref name=trade /><ref name="IISS 2024"/>
* {{flag|Sahrawi Republic}}<ref name=Maghreb>{{cite book|last=Cordesman|first=Anthony|title=A Tragedy of Arms: Military and Security Developments in the Maghreb|date=2001|page=62|publisher=Praeger Books|location=Westport|isbn=978-0-275-96936-3}}</ref>
* {{flag|Saudi Arabia}}: 190 AML-90 and 110 AML-60.<ref name="IISS 2024"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Cordesman|first=Anthony H.|title=Saudi Arabia: National Security in a Troubled Region|year=2009|publisher=ABC-CLIO|location=Santa Barbara, California|pages=159–164|isbn=978-0-313-38089-1}}</ref>
* {{flag|Somaliland}}<ref name=entry>{{cite web |url=http://www.harpoondatabases.com/encyclopedia/entry2727.aspx |title=Panhard AFV Family |publisher=Jason W. Henson |access-date=2013-06-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515123550/http://www.harpoondatabases.com/encyclopedia/entry2727.aspx |archive-date=2013-05-15 }}</ref><ref name="Somaliland">''Somaliland's Resurgence a Key to CT War''. Defense & Foreign Affairs Strategic Policy journal. Alexandria: Oct 2003. Vol.31, Iss. 10; pg. 9</ref>
* {{flag|Togo}}: 3 AML-60 and 7 AML-90 in active service as of 2024.<ref name="IISS 2024"/>
* {{flag|Tunisia}}: 40 AML-90 in service as of 2024.<ref name="IISS 2024"/>
* {{flag|United Arab Emirates}}: 49 AML-90 in active service as of 2024.<ref name="IISS 2024"/>
* {{flag|Venezuela}}: 10<ref name=trade />
* {{flag|Yemen}}: 185;<ref name="Red" /> 95 operational in 2013.<ref name="Security3" />

===Former operators===
<!--READ FIRST: This section is for cited entries only. Please do not add entries into this list without a citation from a reliable source. All entries without a citation will be removed. Thank you.-->
* {{flag|Angola}}: 5 inherited from Portugal at Angolan independence.<ref name="nastudy">{{cite book|last=Collelo|first=Thomas|title=Angola: A Country Study|pages=237–317}}</ref>
* {{flag|Biafra}}: Some captured from Nigeria.<ref name=Biafra>{{cite book|last=Jowett|first=Philip|title=Modern African Wars (5): The Nigerian-Biafran War 1967–70|date=2016|pages=24–46|publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]] Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-1-4728-1609-2}}</ref>
* {{flag|Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnia-Herzegovina}}: 10 AML-90<ref name=trade />
* {{flag|Cambodia}}: 15 AML-60s in service between 1965 and 1975.<ref name=trade /> Saw service during the [[Cambodian Civil War]].<ref name=WMW />
* {{flag|Egypt}}<ref name="Suez" /><ref name="MFPanhard">{{cite web|url=http://www.militaryfactory.com/armor/detail.asp?armor_id=146 |title=Panhard AML 60/90 Light Scout Car |publisher=militaryfactory.com |access-date=2013-05-02}}</ref>
* {{flag|Ethiopia}} 56 AML-60<ref name=trade />
* {{flag|France}}: 905<ref name="Haynes"/>
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the People's Republic of Kampuchea.svg}} [[People's Republic of Kampuchea]]: 2 AML-60s in service during the early 1980s.<ref name="Africa" />
* {{flag|Iraq}}: 300;<ref name="Benning" /> 10 operational in the mid 2000s.<ref name="deagel" />
* {{flag|Ireland}}: 32 AML-20, 20 AML-90<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://ruestungsexport-info.de/fileadmin/media/Dokumente/Zahlen___Fakten/UNO_Register/UNO-2004-N0543830.pdf |title=United Nations Register of Conventional Arms |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150628174015/http://ruestungsexport-info.de/fileadmin/media/Dokumente/Zahlen___Fakten/UNO_Register/UNO-2004-N0543830.pdf |archive-date=28 June 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{flag|Israel}}: 29 AML-90<ref name=trade /><ref name=Baruchy />
* {{flag|Libya|1977}}: 20 AML-90<ref name=trade />
* {{flag|Malaysia}}: 140 AML-60 and AML-90s<ref name=trade />
* {{flag|Pakistan}}: 5 AML 60-20<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.terminalx.org/2013/08/pakistan-military-takes-security-zirports-prisons-defence-installations.html |title=Pakistan: Military takes security of Airports, Prisons and Defence Installations |access-date=15 November 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129035334/http://www.terminalx.org/2013/08/pakistan-military-takes-security-zirports-prisons-defence-installations.html |archive-date=29 November 2014 }}</ref><ref name="Africa" /><ref name=WDA1993 />
* {{flag|Portugal}}: 50 AML-60<ref name=trade />
* {{flag|Senegal}}: 54 AML-60 and AML-90<ref name=trade />
* {{flag|Somalia}}: Received up to 20 AML-90s from Saudi Arabia in 1984.<ref name="Somalia1">{{cite web|title=SNA's Uphill Battle in Navigating a Future Beyond ATMIS|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=https://thesomalidigest.com/snas-uphill-battle-in-navigating-a-future-beyond-atmis/|location=Mogadishu|publisher=The Somali Digest|date=14 January 2024|access-date=6 February 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240223143709/https://thesomalidigest.com/snas-uphill-battle-in-navigating-a-future-beyond-atmis/|archive-date=23 February 2024}}</ref><ref name=trade />
* {{flag|South Africa|1928}}: 100 AMLs procured in 1962, swiftly replaced by ''Eland Mk2''.<ref name=borderstrike /><ref name=trade />
* {{flag|Spain}}: 140 AML-60 and AML-90s<ref name=trade />
* {{flag|Sudan}}: 5-6 AML-90<ref name="Globe">{{cite book | last = Richard Lobban, Jr.| title = Global Security Watch: Sudan|edition= 2010|page= 182 | publisher = Greenwood Publishing Group| isbn= 978-0-313-35332-1| year = 2010}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20141215083105/http://heb.inss.org.il/uploadimages/SystemFiles/sudan.pdf INSS: Sudan]</ref>
* {{flag|United Kingdom}}: 1 AML-90 captured during the [[Falklands War]]; used as a workshop vehicle by 2 Field Workshop [[REME]] after the conflict.<ref name="Falklands War 2 Field Workshop REME" >{{cite web|title=REME Workshops in Stanley after the Falklands War |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9ROICfzXOg|website=www.youtube.com|access-date=2024-05-12|publisher=REME Museum |language=en |format=video |url-status=live}}</ref>
* {{flag|Zaire}}: 155, 95 AML-60 and 60 AML-90<ref name=Cooper>{{cite book|last=Cooper|first=Tom|title=Great Lakes Holocaust: First Congo War, 1996–1997|date=2013|pages=14–16|publisher=Helion & Company|location=Solihull|isbn=978-1-909384-65-1}}</ref>

===Former non-state operators===
* [[File:Flag of Mourabitoun.svg|22px]] [[Al-Mourabitoun]]: Inherited from the [[Lebanese Armed Forces]] (LAF).<ref>Kassis, ''Véhicules Militaires au Liban/Military Vehicles in Lebanon'' (2012), pp. 46-48.</ref><ref name=Lebanon />
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Amal Movement (version).svg}} [[Lebanese Resistance Regiments|Amal Movement]]: Inherited from the LAF.<ref>Micheletti, ''Bataille d'artillerie'', RAIDS magazine (1989), p. 34.</ref>
* [[File:Flag of Jihad.svg|22px]] [[Boko Haram]]: AML-60 variant; likely captured from Nigeria.<ref name="IISS2016">{{cite book|last=International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS)|title=The Military Balance 2016|year=2016|publisher=IISS|location=London|isbn=978-1-85743-835-2}}</ref>
* {{flagicon image|Flag of Cabinda.svg}} [[Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda|FLEC]]: At least 2 AML-60; likely acquired from Zaire.<ref name=Ortiz>{{cite book|last=Ortiz|first=José|title=Angola from the trenches|date=1984|pages=35–36|publisher=International Organization of Journalists|location=Prague|oclc=22657439}}</ref>
* {{flagicon image|Bandeira da FNLA.svg}} [[National Front for the Liberation of Angola|FNLA]]: 1 AML-90;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ucalgary.ca/innovations/files/innovations/Fitzsimmons%20Culture%20Clash.pdf|title=Culture Clash: The Influence of Behavioural Norms on Military Performance in Asymmetric Conflicts}}</ref> now on display at the [[Museum of the Armed Forces (Angola)|Museu das Forças Armadas]], [[Luanda]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.shakinghandswithbilly.com/admin/ckeditor/litsoft-fm_v1.00/userfiles/files/Selected%20Short%20Stories%20from%20Billy.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151013034928/http://www.shakinghandswithbilly.com/admin/ckeditor/litsoft-fm_v1.00/userfiles/files/Selected%20Short%20Stories%20from%20Billy.pdf|url-status=dead|title=Selected Short Stories from Billy|archive-date=October 13, 2015}}</ref>
* {{Flagicon image|FLNC Congo.svg}} [[Front for the National Liberation of the Congo|FNLC]]: 1 AML-60, some AML-90s.<ref name="Voices">Gilbert, Adrian. ''Voices of the Foreign Legion: The History of the World's Most Famous Fighting Corps''. Skyhorse Publishing 2010. {{ISBN|978-1-61608-032-7}}</ref>
* {{flagicon image|Forces Libanaises Flag.svg}} [[Lebanese Forces (Militia)|Lebanese Forces]]: 12 AML-90 inherited from the LAF.<ref>Sex & Abi-Chahine, ''Modern Conflicts 2 – The Lebanese Civil War, From 1975 to 1991 and Beyond'' (2021), p. 74.</ref><ref name=Lebanon />
* [[File:Flag of the Progressive Socialist Party.svg|22px]] [[Progressive Socialist Party]]/[[File:People's Liberation Army (Lebanon).jpg|22px]] [[People's Liberation Army (Lebanon)]]: Inherited from the LAF.<ref>Kassis, ''30 Years of Military Vehicles in Lebanon'' (2003), p. 57.</ref><ref name=Lebanon />
* {{flagicon image|Former Flag of the Lebanese Army.svg}} [[South Lebanon Army]]: inherited from the LAF.
* [[File:Ahrar flag.gif|23px|border]] [[Tigers Militia]]: inherited from the LAF.<ref>Kassis, ''Véhicules Militaires au Liban/Military Vehicles in Lebanon'' (2012), p. 56.</ref>
* {{flagicon image|Flag of UNITA.svg}} [[UNITA]]: 4<ref name=borderstrike />{{rp|35}} AMLs acquired clandestinely through [[Zaire]]; saw service during the [[Angolan Civil War]].<ref name="T-34">{{cite book |last=Stephen Zaloga |title=T-34-85 Medium Tank 1944–94|edition=2011|page=40 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |isbn=978-1-85532-535-7|year=1996}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Nortje|first=Piet|title=32 Battalion |publisher=Zebra Press|year=2003|isbn=978-1-86872-914-2|page=97}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
The Panhard AML has made some major film appearances, most notably in the 1987 British film ''[[The Living Daylights]]'', when two Moroccan Army AML-90s were mocked up as Soviet reconnaissance vehicles pursuing Afghan [[Mujahadeen]]. These examples included mounted [[RPK]] machine guns and communications not dissimilar to those in the [[BRDM-2]].

AMLs were first portrayed in the 1973 French thriller ''[[The Day of the Jackal (film)|The Day of the Jackal]]'', and 1974 Italian war film ''[[While There's War There's Hope]]'', which featured an AML-90 of the [[Portuguese Armed Forces]] during the [[Guinea-Bissau War of Independence]].

Two AML-90s stand in for German scout cars serving with the [[Afrika Korps]] appear in the 1984 French war film ''[[Les Morfalous]]''.

A Moroccan Army AML-90 briefly appears in the 2018 [[political thriller|political thriller film]] ''[[Beirut (film)|Beirut]]'', mocked up as a Lebanese militia armored car passing by outside the main entrance of the [[Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport|Beirut International Airport Passenger Terminal]].

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:277b-AML-90.jpg|Recognition plate
File:Irish AML-20.JPG
File:AML-60 LAG-40.jpg
File:Panhard AML 60 pic2.JPG
File:DjiboutiPanhard.jpg
File:Panhard-AML-90-latrun-2.jpg
File:AML-90 at Latrun19.JPG|Frontal glacis
File:AML-90 at Latrun20.JPG|Rear hull, including the enclosed powerplant
File:AML-90 at Batey HaOsef17.JPG|Driving compartment
File:AMl-90 at Batey haOsef18.JPG|Gunner's fighting position; note manual turret cranks
File:AML-90 at Batey HaOsef3.jpg|Commander's fighting position; note hatch for ejecting spent casings
File:AML-90 at Batey HaOsef10.jpg|Ammunition rack located in rear of AML turret
</gallery>

==See also==
===Panhard series===
* [[Eland Mk7]] (derivative)
* [[Panhard EBR]]
* [[Panhard M3]]
* [[ERC 90 Sagaie|Panhard ERC-90 Sagaie]]
* [[Panhard VCR]]
* [[Véhicule Blindé Léger|Panhard VBL]]

===Vehicles of comparable role, performance, and era===
*  {{lwc|Alvis Saladin}}
*  {{lwc|BRDM-2}}
*  {{lwc|EE-9 Cascavel}}
*  {{lwc|Eland armoured car}}
*  {{lwc|Ferret armoured car|Ferret}}
*  {{lwc|Fox armoured reconnaissance vehicle|Fox}}
*  {{lwc|VBC-90}}
*  {{lwc|Cadillac Gage Commando}}

==Notes and references==
===Annotations===
{{reflist |group=note}}

===References===
{{reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin|30em}}
*Charles Maisonneuve, ''AML Panhard – Des hommes, une histoire'', Collection Vehicules Militaires, Histoire & Collections, Paris 2020. {{ISBN|9782352505143}} (in [[French language|French]])
* David François, ''El Salvador – Volume 1: Crisis, Coup and Uprising 1970-1983'', Latin America@War Volume 32, Helion & Company Limited, Warwick UK 2023. {{ISBN|978-1-804514-02-3}}
* David François, ''El Salvador – Volume 2: Conflagration 1984-1992'', Latin America@War Volume 34, Helion & Company Limited, Warwick UK 2023. {{ISBN|978-1-804512-18-0}}
* {{cite book|last=Dunstan |first=Simon |title=Panhard Armoured Car: 1961 Onwards (AML 60, AML 90, Eland), Enthusiasts' Manual |publisher=Haynes Publishing |publication-place=Somerset, UK |date=2019 |isbn=978-1-78521-194-2}}
* {{cite book|last=Foss |first=Christopher F. |title=Jane's Tank & Combat Vehicle recognition guide |publisher=HarperCollins |publication-place=London |date=2002 |isbn=0-00-712759-6}}
* {{cite book|title=The Military Balance 2021|date=February 2021|volume=121|isbn=978-1-032-01227-8|publisher=Routledge|ref={{harvid|The Military Balance 2021}}|author=International Institute for Strategic Studies|author-link=International Institute for Strategic Studies}}
* Éric Micheletti and Yves Debay, ''Liban – dix jours aux cœur des combats'', RAIDS magazine n.º41, October 1989 issue. {{ISSN|0769-4814}} (in [[French language|French]])
* Peter Gerard Locke & Peter David Farquharson Cooke, ''Fighting Vehicles and Weapons of Rhodesia 1965–80'', P&P Publishing, Wellington 1995 {{ISBN|0-473-02413-6}}
* {{cite book|last=Kassis |first=Samer |title=Véhicules Militaires au Liban 1975–1981 |trans-title=Military Vehicles in Lebanon 1975-1981 |language=fr |publisher=Trebia Publishing |publication-place=Chyah |date=2012 |isbn=978-9953-0-2372-4}}
* {{cite book|last1=Sex |first1=Zachary |last2=Abi-Chahine |first2=Bassel |title=Modern Conflicts 2 – The Lebanese Civil War, From 1975 to 1991 and Beyond |series=Modern Conflicts Profile Guide |volume=II |publisher=AK Interactive |date=2021 |id={{EAN|8435568306073}}}}
* {{cite book|last=Zaloga |first=Steven J. |title=Tank battles of the Mid-East Wars (2): The wars of 1973 to the present |publisher=Concord Publications |publication-place=Hong Kong |date=2003 |isbn=962-361-613-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/tankbattlesmidea00zalo_215}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons|Panhard AML}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100114074213/http://www.panhard.fr/anglais/AML.php Panhard's AML page]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysmSps_YV7o Footage of Irish AML 90's firing]
* [http://www.chars-francais.net/ Chars Français] {{in lang|fr}}
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20110613023412/http://www.chars-francais.net/new/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27&Itemid=41 AML 60]
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20110613023523/http://www.chars-francais.net/new/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=28&Itemid=41 AML 90]

{{ColdWarFrenchAFVs}}
{{Modern AFV}}
{{Modern Recce}}
{{ModernFrenchAFVs}}
{{Fire support vehicles}}

[[Category:Vehicles introduced in 1960]]
[[Category:Airborne fighting vehicles]]
[[Category:Armoured cars of France]]
[[Category:Armoured cars of the Cold War]]
[[Category:Fire support vehicles]]
[[Category:Internal security vehicles]]
[[Category:Military vehicles introduced in the 1960s]]
[[Category:Panhard military vehicles|AML]]
[[Category:Wheeled armoured fighting vehicles]]
[[Category:Wheeled reconnaissance vehicles]]
[[Category:Reconnaissance vehicles of the Cold War]]