The véhicule blindé de combat d'infanterie (English: armoured infantry fighting vehicle) or VBCI is a French Infantry fighting vehicle designed and manufactured by GIAT Industries (now Nexter Systems) and Renault Trucks Defense (now Arquus) to replace the AMX-10P.[3] The first units entered active service with the French Army in 2008. A total of 630 units were ordered, and full delivery was completed in 2018. They are available in two core variants, the VCI infantry fighting vehicle and the VPC command post vehicle.
The VBCI is built on an aluminium hull which carries a modular THD steel and titanium armour that can be replaced in the field. The 8x8 wheeled design was chosen to make the VBCI more comfortable as well as easier and less costly to maintain on war theaters than a tracked vehicle would be, while giving it sufficient mobility to complement the Leclerc tank. The VBCI is also designed to be transportable by the Airbus A400M.
History
In the early 1990s, the French government started the VBM (Véhicule Blindé Modulaire — Modular Armoured Vehicle) as a replacement for its older IFVs. Soon, Germany and the United Kingdom joined the project. At Eurosatory 1996, Renault unveiled the X8A, an eight-wheeled prototype in this perspective.[4]