Army: Scania France unveils military trucks

With a view to modernizing the Army’s aerial detection and surveillance capabilities, the Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) has ordered 16 Scania military trucks equipped with a Giraffe 1X radar with active antenna manufactured by Saab. The first eight vehicles will be delivered during 2026.

The DGA ordered these sixteen vehicles from two Swedish manufacturers, but the trucks will be manufactured in Scania’s Angers factory, department of Maine-et-Loire. “This contract illustrates Scania France’s know-how in terms of designing tactical vehicles adapted to their operational needs,†rejoices Benoît Tanguy, president of Scania France. The integration of the radar on the chassis will also be carried out in Angers.

What we know about the Scania V3P

The Scania V3P, which we call Vampire, like the PAMELA multipurpose carrier vehicle, is developed by Scania France and its Defense department (Scania Public and Defense), which produces vehicles for the armed forces and emergency services in particular.

The rear platform of the carrier will not only accommodate Saab’s Giraffe 1X radar, but also an energy pack meeting the electrical autonomy requirements of the device.

The interior of the cabin is equipped with additional seats and screens, to be able to simultaneously board a pilot, a captain and three operators.

What will these carriers be used for?

These 16 carriers will replace part of the defense aerial detection and surveillance capacity, which currently relies on vehicles which entered service in 1995. Saab’s Giraffe 1X detection device with active antenna will be able to identify a wide range of threats remotely (several kilometers away) 360° aerial views, ranging from micro-drones to combat aircraft and ballistic missiles.

The first eight carriers will be delivered during 2026 and the following eight in the first half of 2027.