Armoured personnel carrier
ACMAT Bastion
Type
Armoured personnel carrier Place of origin France In service 2012–present Wars Designer
ACMAT Manufacturer
ACMAT (Former, France)
[1]
Renault Truck Defense (Former, France)
[1]
Arquus (Current, France)
[1]
MACK Defense (Former, USA)
[2] [
better source needed ]
AM General (Current, USA)
[3]
Variants Mass 12 tonnes
[4] Length 6 m (19 ft 8 in)
[4] Width 2.2 m (7 ft 3 in)
[4] Height 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in)
[4] Crew 2 Passengers 8–10
Armour
STANAG 4569 level 1 to level 3
[4] Main armament
7.62 mm or 12.7 mm ring or remote control turret
[5] Engine 180 hp (130 kW) Suspension wheeled Operational range
1,400 km (870 mi)
[6] 110 km/h (68 mph)
[4]
The ACMAT Bastion is a modern French
armoured personnel carrier , manufactured by
ACMAT .
The Bastion was available to customers in North America and Oceania via
Mack Defense .
[7]
[8] As of 2021, AM General is making the Bastion.
[3]
Design
Its chassis is based on the ACMAT VLRA.
[4] In 2018,
Arquus , owner of ACMAT, signed a contract with
AM General to propose the Bastion as an armored
ambulance for the
U.S. Army .
[6]
Bastion PATSAS
A Bastion PATSAS of the
Regiment of Presidential Security (left) during the
2015 Burkinabé coup d'état .
The Bastion PATSAS (PATrouille SAS) is a variant designed for
special forces .
[6] It is lighter (10 tonnes) and carries 5 equipped soldiers. It is armed with a 12.7mm
heavy machine gun and can carry 3 additional
medium machine guns .
[9]
Fortress
The Fortress, formerly Bastion HM (High Mobility), is an up-armored Bastion, with a more powerful motor (340 hp) and an
independent suspension to improve its mobility.
[10] It exists in two versions, APC and armored logistic vehicle.
[11]
Service history
A Bastion APC of the loyalist
National Gendarmerie during the
2015 Burkinabé coup d'état .
West Africa
The Chadian détachement d'action rapide (rapid action detachment) used the Bastion PATSAS during the
2013 intervention in Mali .
[12] The Chadian Army also fielded Bastions during the
2015 intervention against Boko Haram in
Far North Cameroon and
Nigeria .
[13]
The
Cameroonian Bastion APCs, nicknamed as Cyclones , have been deployed in Northern Cameroon with the
Battalion d'intervention rapide elite force.
[1]
Burkina Faso deployed its Bastions in peacekeeping operations in Northern Mali, under the
MINUSMA banner.
[14] They have also been used in internal security missions, Bastion PATSAS being for instance fielded by the
regiment de sécurité présidentielle before its
disbandment in 2015 .
[15] One Bastion was destroyed by
Ansar ul Islam in the
2016 Nassoumbou attack .
[16]
In
Mali , the 134th Escadron de Reconnaissance (Recce Squadron) was trained to operate the Bastion APC by the
EUTM Mali .
[17]
East Africa
In 2015, the
United States Department of Defense bought 62 Bastion APC variants commercialised by
Mack Trucks to supply various African forces, some of them, such as
Uganda , being involved in
AMISOM .
[6]
Arabian Peninsula
Some of the
Saudi Arabian Bastion PATSAS were reportedly used in the
intervention in Yemen .
[18]
Operators
Mack Bastion APCs being delivered to the Ugandan contingent of the AMISOM, 2017.
Armenia – 50 Bastion APCs (24 delivered in November 2023 with 26 in production).
[19]
[20]
Burkina Faso – 10 Bastions received in 2012.
[21] At least 8 Bastion PATSAS and some Bastion APCs in service.
[22] More than 100 in service according to
Jane's .
[14]
Cameroon – 23 Bastion APCs received in 2015–2016, supplied via
U.S. DoD .
[21] 15 Bastions received in late 2017.
[1]
Congo-Brazzaville – Two Bastions acquired for the National Police.
[23]
Chad – 22 Bastion PATSAS received in 2013.
[9]
Chile – 7 Bastion 4x4 in 2024 for police use (Carabineros de Chile)
[24]
[25]
Ethiopia – 12 Bastion APCs received in 2016, supplied via U.S. DoD.
[21]
[26] In 2018, an industry source explained to Jane's that none has been actually supplied.
[1]
Gabon – 5 Bastion APCs.
Ivory Coast – at least 9 Bastions in 2018.
[28]
Kenya – 12 Bastion APCs received in 2018, supplied via U.S. DoD.
[29]
Kosovo – 3 Bastion APCs has been seen used by
Kosovo Police , provided by AM General.
[30]
Mali – 5 Bastion APCs received in 2016 for the Malian military.
[21]
[23]
Saudi Arabia – 71 Bastion PATSAS received in 2016.
[21] Used by Saudi special forces units.
[31]
Senegal – 36 Bastion APCs and 2 PATSAS,
[32] 7 were bought in December 2017 by the
Senegalese Gendarmerie for
riot control .
[33] An additional 29 were procured in 2019 for the Army with financial aid from
Saudi Arabia .
[34]
Somalia – 13 Bastion APCs received in 2016, supplied via U.S. DoD.
[21]
[26] In 2018, an industry source explained to Jane's that none have actually been supplied.
[1]
Sweden – some Bastion HMs supplied from 2016, used by the
Särskilda operationsgruppen .
[35]
Tanzania – several dozens of Bastion APCS leased from the UN for peacekeeping missions.
[23]
Togo – 30 Bastion PATSAS received in 2014 for the Togolese military.
[23]
[21]
Tunisia – 4 Bastion APCs received in 2016, supplied via U.S. DoD.
[21]
[26]
Uganda – 19 Bastion APCs received in 2017, supplied via U.S. DoD.
[21]
[26] A total of 31 have been reportedly supplied.
[1]
Evaluation only
Potential user
Ukraine – 20 ACMAT Bastion were supposed to be donated by France to Ukraine in the context of the
Russian invasion of ukraine ,
[38] but this initiative was abandoned due to the light protection of the vehicles, making them unsuitable for frontline use. The 20 vehicles have since been transferred to
Armenia , an export customer.
[39]
References
^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h de Cherisey, Erwan (6 June 2018).
"Cameroon's Bastion APCs now in action" (PDF) .
Jane's Defence Weekly .
Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 January 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2019 .
^ As of October 2017,
using the Wayback machine on the official MACK Defense website indicates that it no longer shows the Bastion family.
^
a
b
"Bastion by AM General" .
^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
"Bastion APC ARQUUS: 4x4 Wheeled Armored Personnel Carrier Vehicle France" . armyrecognition.com . 9 October 2018.
Archived from the original on 6 January 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2019 .
^
"Bastion" . arquus-defense.com .
Archived from the original on 6 January 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2019 .
^
a
b
c
d Lagneau, Laurent (8 October 2018).
"Le groupe français ARQUUS s'allie avec AM General pour tenter d'imposer son blindé Bastion aux États-Unis" . Zone Militaire (in French).
Archived from the original on 6 January 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2019 .
^
"MACK Bastion.PDF" (PDF) .
^
https://sotatalousseura-fi-bin.directo.fi/@Bin/a6669c15439b7a5fc3ddc07326e47b1c/1571276489/application/pdf/177947/Volvo [
permanent dead link ] Trucks presentation Sotataloudellinen seura 25112013.pdf
^
a
b Lagneau, Laurent (19 February 2013).
"Les forces armées tchadiennes ont reçu leurs premiers véhicules blindés Bastion Patsas" . Zone Militaire (in French).
Archived from the original on 6 January 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2019 .
^
"RTD élargit sa gamme Bastion" . forcesoperations.com (in French). 16 June 2014.
Archived from the original on 10 January 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2019 .
^
"Fortress" . arquus-defense.com .
Archived from the original on 10 January 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2019 .
^ Husson, Jean-Pierre (September 2013). "Les FATIM au combat : Premier engagement réussi pour le Bastion PATSAS". Raid (in French). No. 328. pp. 70–71.
^ Finucci, Francesco (14 September 2015).
"It starts here – from DSEI to Chad" .
Archived from the original on 9 January 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2019 .
^
a
b Binnie, Jeremy; de Cherisey, Erwan (2017).
"New-model African armies" (PDF) . Jane's.
Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 June 2017.
^
"Burkina Faso: le désarmement du RSP avance au compte-goutte" .
Radio France Internationale (in French). 28 September 2015.
Archived from the original on 9 January 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2019 .
^ Nsaibia, Héni; Weiss, Caleb (March 2018).
"Ansaroul Islam and the Growing Terrorist Insurgency in Burkina Faso" . CTC Sentinel . 11 (3): 21–26.
Archived from the original on 2019-01-06. Retrieved 2019-01-05 .
^
"Mali: training in the use of the armored vehicle "Bastion" " . difesaonline.it . 22 February 2016.
Archived from the original on 6 January 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2019 .
^
Fédération Internationale des Ligues des Droits de l’Homme ;
Observatoire des armements [in French] ;
Ligue des Droits de l’Homme ; Sisters Arab for Human Rights (April 2018).
Ventes d'armes françaises : "indices de présence" au Yémen et nécessaire refonte des mécanismes de contrôle des exportations (PDF) (Report) (in French). p. 13.
Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-04-23. Retrieved 2019-01-05 .
^
"Projet de loi de finances pour 2024 : Défense : Équipement des forces" . Sénat (in French). Retrieved 2024-02-14 .
^ Malyasov, Dylan.
"Armenia receives French armored vehicles instead of Ukraine" . defence-blog.com . Defence Blog. Retrieved 12 November 2023 .
^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
"Trade Registers" . Armstrade.sipri.org.
Archived from the original on 14 April 2010. Retrieved 5 January 2019 .
^
International Institute for Strategic Studies (February 2016).
"Chapter Nine: Sub-Saharan Africa" (PDF) . The Military Balance 2016 . Vol. 116. Routlegde. p. 432.
doi :
10.1080/04597222.2016.1127636 .
ISBN
9781857438352 .
S2CID
219623172 . [
permanent dead link ]
^
a
b
c
d
Renault Trucks Defense valued at 772 million of euros? (PDF) . OIDA Strategic Intelligence Case Study #2. pp. 9–11. Archived from
the original (PDF) on 2019-10-15.
^
Artículo en infodefensa.com 2024
^
Artículo en infodefensa.com 2024
^
a
b
c
d
"United States ordered Acmat Bastion APCs for African partners" . defenceweb.co.za . 13 October 2015.
Archived from the original on 6 January 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2019 .
^
"Cayman customer identified as Ivory Coast" . defenceweb.co.za . 10 August 2018.
Archived from the original on 10 January 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2019 .
^ de Cherisey, Erwan (22 November 2018).
"Kenya receives Bastion vehicles" . Jane's Defence Weekly . Archived from
the original on 22 November 2018.
^
"Kosovo Police Special Forces receive Arquus Bastion armored vehicles | Defense News April 2021 Global Security army industry | Defense Security global news industry army year 2021 | Archive News year" . 23 April 2021.
^
"French-made Bastion PATSAS Special Forces Saudi Arabia 10105171 | May 2017 Global Defense Security news industry | Defense Security global news industry army 2017 | Archive News year" . May 2017.
^ République du Sénégal (23 May 2017).
"Rapport annuel sur les exportations et les importations d'armes classiques, conformément à l'article 13(3) du traité sur le commerce des armes: Rapport annuel 2017" (in French).
Archived from the original on 9 January 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2019 .
^
"Equipements : La gendarmerie sénégalaise acquiert 13 blindés PVP et neuf Bastion" . leral.net (in French). 6 December 2017.
Archived from the original on 9 January 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2019 .
^ de Cherisey, Erwan (11 April 2019).
"Senegal military parade reveals new acquisitions" . Jane's 360 . Paris.
Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2019 .
^ White, Andrew (15 June 2016).
"Eurosatory: Swedish SF vehicles drive in" . Shephard Media .
Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2019 .
^
"First order of ACMAT Bastion PATSAS Special Forces protected vehicle for Tchad Presidential Guard" . armyrecognition.com . 17 October 2012.
Archived from the original on 6 January 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2019 .
^
"La France va fournir des véhicules blindés Bastion (Arquus) à l'Ukraine" . La Tribune (in French). 2022-10-03. Retrieved 2024-02-26 .
^ CHAPLEAU, Philippe (2023-11-13).
"La France livre des véhicules de transport de troupes Bastion à l'Arménie" . Ouest-France.fr (in French). Retrieved 2024-02-26 .
External links
Past models Present models