"It's fast, stealthy, and has a great destroying capacity, says Lieutentant Casimiro, a Jaguar Platoon Commander from the French Foreign Legion’s 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment. He is talking about the EBRC Jaguar, 6x6 armoured reconnaissance and combat vehicle.  

“Everyone who enters the vehicle for the first time gets quite enthusiastic,” he says. The Ist Foreign Cavalry Regiment is the first operational unit to receive the Jaguar, which was originally demoed at the French National Day parade in July 2022.

Twelve years in development, the EBRC (Engin Blindé de Reconnaissance et de Combat) Jaguar was developed and manufactured by Nexter, Arquus and Thales.The Jaguar replaces three reconnaissance and/or fire support vehicles in French service, the AMX-10 RC, ERC 90 Sagaie and VAB HOT.

The 25-tonne vehicle features a 500 hp engine, with a maximum speed of 90 km/h and a range of 800 km. It has an impressive array of weapon systems on board, including a 40mm cannon, Hornet Remote Weapon System with a 7.62mm machine gun, middle range missiles, and a Galix self-defence system that can shoot lethal and non-lethal grenades.

The vehicle has a crew of three: a driver, gunner, and commander.

“The engine is in a soundproof compartment, so you don’t hear it approaching," says Lt. Casimiro. "The exhaust pipes don’t leave a big thermic exposure and smoke.”  The vehicle makes even less noise when the “silent mode,” is activated which changes the way the engine works.

There is no single feature on the vehicle that makes it stands out, says Lt. Casimiro. "It is a combination of a lot of features that makes it good. Whether it’s for the driver in terms of mobility, or for the gunner in terms of destroying, and the gunner, driver and commander in terms of observation. It's like going from 2G to 5G.”

Watch the 6x6 EBRC Jaguar at Eurosatory 2024 in Paris

"Network-enabled combat" under Scorpion

The EBRC Jaguar is one of three new platforms, including the Griffon multi-role armoured vehicle, and the 4x4 multi-purpose Serval, which form part of the French Scorpion programme. One of the unique features of the Scorpion programme is “network-enabled collaborative combat”, which means combat information can be easily shared and communicated in real time between all deployed vehicles.

“All the vehicles in Scorpion can see one another’s position (blue force tracking) live on their screens,” explains Lt. Casimiro. “They can easily give each other information, which enables quicker decision-making on the battlefield.” On screens inside the vehicle, symbols are used to depict and track the enemy. “When you put it on your screen, everyone else sees it too,” he says.

The networked communication capability also enables vehicles within the Scorpion programme to travel at greater distances from one another, which provides higher levels of protection against different types of threat, including unmanned air systems.

The EBRC Jaguar, along with other vehicles from the Scorpion programme, are currently deployed on Exercise Spring Storm in Estonia, the largest annual military exercise involving the UK-led NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup, comprised of both UK and French forces, with more than 14,000 personnel due to take part from 11 NATO countries.