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| Petit Véhicule Protégé | |
|---|---|
PVP of the French army after the Bastille Day Parade (July 14, 2021) | |
| Type | Light armoured vehicle, military light utility vehicle, 2-door truck |
| Place of origin | France |
| Service history | |
| Used by | See Operators |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Panhard |
| Unit cost | €167,000 (FY 2012) |
| Produced | 2008–2012 |
| No. built | 1,133 |
| Variants | See Variants |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 4,390 kg |
| Length | 4.6 m (15 ft 1 in) |
| Width | 2.28 m (7 ft 6 in) |
| Height | 2.17 m (7 ft 1 in) |
| Crew | 2 to 4 |
| Armour | STANAG 4569 (6 to 10 mm) |
Main armament | Medium machine gun |
| Engine | IVECO 8140 2.8 litre turbo-diesel 160 hp (120 kW) |
| Power/weight | 34 hp/tonne |
| Suspension | Wheeled 4 x 4 |
Operational range | 800 km (500 mi) |
| Maximum speed | 120 km/h (75 mph) |
The Petit Véhicule Protégé ("Light Protected vehicle", also Panhard PVP) is a light, general-purpose armoured 4-wheel drive vehicle used by the French Army, made by Panhard. It is also designated as Auverland A4 AVL (Armoured Vehicle Light). Built by Auverland, it is one of the successors to the Peugeot P4.
It's intended mostly as a personnel carrier, weapon carrier, and for reconnaissance, detection and communications purposes.
In 2004, the first batch of 314 vehicles was ordered. The first vehicles were delivered in February 2008 and production ended in July 2012. 100 vehicles will be fitted with the WASP light RWS. It is expected that the French DGA will order an additional 300 PVP vehicles.
The 2009-14 military budget originally called for a total of 1500 PVPs, but this was reduced to 1233 in 2010 and 1133 in 2012. In the end, 1073 were delivered to the Army at a total cost of €242.7m (~US$325m) for a unit cost of €167,000 (~US$220,000), or €226,000 (~US$300,000) including development costs.
The PVP is modular, allowing extra seats to be added for more personnel or to be used as a light truck. The armour, made of steel and aluminium, offers level 2 protection (STANAG 4569) for the crew and the engine. The floor is protected against antipersonnel mines (type DM 31).
