Ukraine to Receive Another 50 French Bastion Armored Vehicles

Ukraine will receive 50 more French Bastion wheeled armored vehicles, according to the 2024 report of defense company John Cockerill Defense.

The delivery will bring the total number of Bastion vehicles in Ukraine’s armed forces to 61.

In early August, French manufacturer Arquus Defense handed over the first Bastion vehicles on the VLRA chassis, which had completed a full test cycle.

The report said the contract covered 61 vehicles, 11 of which had already been delivered.

“Arquus also signed a contract for the supply of 61 Bastion vehicles for Ukraine… Arquus delivered eleven Bastion vehicles designed for troop transportation. It is expected that another fifty vehicles will be provided,” John Cockerill Defense said.

Bastion for Ukraine

Plans to deliver 11 Bastion vehicles to Ukraine were announced in April 2023, but the order was later frozen.

The company cited the absence of a French-Ukrainian intergovernmental agreement as the reason for the delay.

In May 2024, Arquus CEO Emmanuel Levacher confirmed the company had been producing 11 Bastion vehicles, which had been scheduled to be handed over in July 2024. Company officials also said Arquus could’ve produced up to 100 additional vehicles if Ukraine had requested.

Militarnyi previously reported that French company Texelis, together with an unnamed Ukrainian defense partner, would develop a new line of armored vehicles.

The vehicles will be based on the existing Celeris chassis, which is already in use with the French army, including in the Serval armored vehicle.