View source for VBC-90

{{Infobox weapon
|          name=VBC-90
|        image=[[File:SATORY 9 JANVIER 2014 021 bis.jpg|300px|]]
|      caption=
|origin=[[France]]
|type=[[Armored car (military)|Armoured car]]
|is_vehicle=yes
|is_UK=yes
|service             = 1981 – 2010
| used_by            = See ''[[VBC-90#Operators|Operators]]''
|number=34
| manufacturer       =[[Renault|Renault Véhicules Industriels]]/[[Creusot-Loire]]
| spec_label         =<ref name="JAAA87 p179-1">Foss 1987, pp. 179–181.</ref>
|       length={{convert|8.135|m|ftin|abbr=on}} (gun forward)<br>{{convert|5.63|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|        width={{convert|2.50|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|       height={{convert|2.552|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|       weight={{convert|13500|kg|lb}}

|   suspension=6x6 wheel
|   speed={{convert|92|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}
|        vehicle_range={{convert|1000|km|mi|abbr=on}}
|      primary_armament=90 mm rifled gun
|    secondary_armament=1× 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun<br>4× smoke dischargers
|       armour=6–8 mm
|       engine=Renault MIDS 06.20.45 6 cylinder water-cooler turbocharged diesel engine
|           engine_power={{convert|220|hp|kW|abbr=on|}}
|           pw_ratio=16 hp/tonne
|         crew=3
}}

The '''Renault VBC-90''' (''Véhicule Blindé de Combat'', or "Armoured Combat Vehicle") is a six-wheeled French [[Armored car (military)|armoured car]] carrying a 90mm high-velocity gun mated to a sophisticated [[Fire-control system|fire control computer]] and [[Laser rangefinder|ranging system]]. It was developed primarily for internal security or armed reconnaissance purposes. Modeled after Renault's [[Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé]] (VAB) armoured personnel carrier, the VBC-90 was engineered in concert with [[Saviem]] and [[Creusot-Loire]].<ref name="Jane3">{{cite book | last = Pretty| first = Ronald|title = Jane's Weapon Systems, 1979–80|edition= 1979|pages= 317–367 | publisher = Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd| isbn= 978-0-531-03299-2}}</ref> One was also built in prototype form by [[Argentina]] under license, where it was known as the ''Vehículos de Apoyo y Exploración''.<ref name="Sanchez">Sánchez Rubio, Rodolfo. ''Carrera armamentista en el Cono Sur de América 1940-1981: teoría y práctica''. Estado Mayor General del Ejercito (Chile) 1985. OCLC 20069482 p 141.</ref> VBC variants were available with various hull configurations resembling those of the VAB and the [[Berliet VXB-170]].<ref name="Jane3"/>

==Development History==
The VBC-90 was developed by Renault and Saviem as a specialized reconnaissance and fire support variant of the ''Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé''.<ref name="Jane3"/> It had a very wide turret ring and was manufactured specifically to carry a large-calibre gun system. At least two prototypes had been completed by 1979 and were initially designated ''VCS-90''.<ref name="Jane3"/> The first two had boat-shaped hulls and glacis plates reminiscent of the VXB-170 and VAB, respectively. They essentially resembled six-wheeled variants of these vehicles, albeit with larger turret rings.<ref name="Jane3"/> The third had a more unique hull and a sloping glacis plate. It was this variant which was eventually accepted for production as the VBC-90.<ref name="Jane3"/>

Unlike the VAB, the VBC was not developed to meet a [[French Army]] requirement and was intended solely for export to French military clients overseas.<ref name="Kolodziej">Kolodziej, Edward A. "Making and Marketing Arms: The French Experience and Its Implications for the International System." ''Princeton University Press'', 2014. {{ISBN|1-40085-877-1}}. pp 274–275.</ref> Nevertheless, from 1981, the French government ordered 28 VBC-90s for a single squadron of the [[Mobile Gendarmerie]], as a replacement for the ageing [[AMX-13]] light tanks. The last one was delivered in 1984.<ref>{{cite report|url=https://www.senat.fr/rap/1985-1986/i1985_1986_0099_05.pdf|title=Avis présenté au nom de la commission des Affaires étrangères de la Défense et des Forces armées, sur le projet de loi de finances pour 1986, adopté par l'Assemblée Nationale|work=Première Session Ordinaire 1985-1986|page=8}}</ref> VBCs produced by Renault for the Gendarmerie were designated ''VBC-90G''.<ref name="VBC-90G">[https://web.archive.org/web/20150629163214/http://www.senat.fr/rap/1986-1987/i1986_1987_0070_05.pdf Senat Avis: Premiere Session Ordinaire de 1986–1987 (Tome V)]</ref> Another 6 were delivered to Oman between 1984 and 1985 as part of a much larger shipment of VABs for the [[Royal Guard of Oman|Royal Omani Guard]].<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>

Oman has since announced it will be phasing out its VBC-90s in favor of the much more heavily armed [[B1 Centauro]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.inss.org.il/uploadImages/Oman20160103.pdf |title=Oman |publisher=Institute for National Security Studies |access-date=28 July 2016 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160728225017/http://www.inss.org.il/uploadImages/Oman20160103.pdf |archive-date=28 July 2016 }}</ref> The French gendarmerie relegated its VBCs to reserve storage in the early 2000s.<ref name="retired">{{cite web|title=La gendarmerie va cannibaliser ses véhicules blindés|first=Jean-Dominique|last=Merchet|author-link=Jean-Dominique Merchet|date=19 February 2009|url=http://secretdefense.blogs.liberation.fr/2009/02/19/la-gendarmerie/|website=secretdefense.blogs.liberation.fr|access-date=5 October 2019|archive-date=14 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614075341/http://secretdefense.blogs.liberation.fr/2009/02/19/la-gendarmerie/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

A simplified VBC-90 variant known as the ''Vehículos de Apoyo y Exploración'' (VAPE) was developed for [[Argentina]] by Renault. It was trialled alongside a much heavier model of the [[ERC 90 Sagaie]] offered by Panhard, but neither of the two were adopted by the Argentine Army.<ref name="Sanchez"/>

In 2014, [[Lebanon]] was lobbying for the purchase of an undisclosed number of VBC-90s. The deal was to be partly financed with military grants from [[Saudi Arabia]]<ref name='Lebanon'>{{cite web|url=http://www.janes.com/article/42215/new-saudi-donation-to-lebanon-raises-doubts-about-usd3-billion-pledged-in-2013? |title=New Saudi donation to Lebanon raises doubts about USD3 billion pledged in 2013 |work=IHS Jane's 360 |access-date=23 May 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140902002855/http://www.janes.com/article/42215/new-saudi-donation-to-lebanon-raises-doubts-about-usd3-billion-pledged-in-2013 |archive-date= 2 September 2014 }}</ref> but was frozen in 2016 due to tensions between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.challenges.fr/challenges-soir/l-arabie-saoudite-torpille-le-mega-contrat-d-armement-donas_13685|title=L'Arabie Saoudite torpille le méga-contrat d'armement Donas|first= Vincent |last=Lamigeon |date= 22 February 2016 |newspaper=Challenges}}</ref>

==Specifications==
It has a steel hull armoured to protect against [[small arms]] fire. It has a crew of three, with the driver sitting at the front of the vehicle with three bullet-proof windows provided for the driver. A GIAT TS 90 turret carries the commander and gunner, and carries an armament of a 90&nbsp;mm cannon with a [[Co-axial machine gun#Coaxial|co-axial]] 7.62&nbsp;mm machine gun. 20 rounds of 90&nbsp;mm ammunition are carried in the turret, with a further 25 rounds in the hull.<ref name="JAAA87 p179-1"/>

It is powered by a six-cylinder [[diesel engine]] mounted at the rear of the hull, driving a [[Six-wheel drive|6x6 drive]]. The vehicle is not [[Amphibious vehicle|amphibious]], unlike the VAB on which it was based.<ref name="JAAA87 p179-1"/>

==Operators==
[[File:VBC-90 operators.png|thumb|400px|Map with VBC-90 operators in blue]]
=== Former operators ===
* {{flag|Oman}}<ref name="trade"/>
* {{flag|France}}<ref name="retired"/>
===Potential operators===
* {{flag|Lebanon}}<ref name='Lebanon'/>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:VBC-90 img 2376.jpg
File:VAPE-1.png
File:VAB and VBC-90 in Oman 1981.jpg
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

*Foss, Christopher F. ''Jane's Armour and Artillery 1987–88''. London: Jane's Yearbooks, 1987. {{ISBN|0-7106-0849-7}}.
*Foss, Christopher F. ''Jane's Tanks and Combat Vehicles Recognition Guide''. London: HarperCollins Publishers, 2002. {{ISBN|0-00-712759-6}}.

==External links==
{{Commons category|VBC-90}}
* [http://www.chars-francais.net/2015/index.php/liste-chronologique/de-1945-a-1990?task=view&id=727 Presentation] (French)

{{ModernFrenchAFVs}}
{{Armoured combat vehicles}}
{{Modern Recce}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}

[[Category:Armoured cars of France]]
[[Category:Fire support vehicles]]
[[Category:Internal security vehicles]]
[[Category:Wheeled armoured fighting vehicles]]
[[Category:Wheeled reconnaissance vehicles]]
[[Category:Six-wheeled vehicles]]
[[Category:Reconnaissance vehicles of the Cold War]]
[[Category:Military vehicles introduced in the 1980s]]