Ireland may soon purchase hundreds of armored vehicles from the French arms manufacturer KNDS France, APA reports citing La Tribune Dimanche.
The order is valued at over €1 billion. Ireland is primarily interested in Jaguar reconnaissance and combat vehicles, Serval multi-role light armored vehicles, Griffon armored personnel carriers, and Caesar self-propelled artillery units. The contract could be signed during a visit to Dublin by French Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin, for which preparations are currently underway. The newspaper indicates that it could take place in late March or early April.
La Tribune Dimanche emphasized that Ireland has never been a major client of French defense companies. From 2015 to 2024, the country ordered French weapons "for only €53.1 million."
According to the publication, Dublin must place an order for armored vehicles to replace its expensive-to-maintain fleet of Swiss-developed Piranha III vehicles from the American company General Dynamics and RG-32M vehicles from South African manufacturer Denel by 2030. The publication notes that in addition to the KNDS armored vehicles, Ireland is also considering purchasing other defense technologies to replace its existing American-made vehicles. This particularly concerns the possible purchase of radars from the French group Thales.
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