VBC-90 was developed by Renault and Saviem for the export market, although unfortunately it did not succeed. The vehicle has three crew members, a driver sitting in the front and a commander and gunner inside the turret. The driver has excellent visibility thanks to a hatch equipped with three windows with bulletproof glass.The VBC-90 or “Vehicle Blindé de Combat” continues the French tradition of mount powerful guns in light wheeled vehicles, in addition it has installed a sophisticated fire control system, NBC protection and night vision, which makes it a very suitable for reconnaissance missions. Nonetheless, only 34 units entered service for non-war missions but for internal security.The VBC-90 weighs 13.5 tons and is driven by a 220hp diesel engine that allows it to reach more than 90 km/h on road. The 90mm F4 rifled gun has a high initial velocity and the APFSDS round reached about 1,350 m/s, enough to destroy a tank at 1,000 meters away, it can also fire anti-personnel, smoke and HE ammunition.This vehicle carries 16 90mm rounds inside the turret for immediate use and another 25 projectiles stored in the hull. The secondary weapon it is composed by a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun and four smoke grenade dischargers, two on each side of the turret.France withdrew their VBC-90s in 2013, and decided to sell 20 vehicles to Libanese Army within a 3 billion dollar agreement signed in 2014 to reinforce their armed forces with French material. This investment was entirely financed by Saudi Arabia under the DONAS program and also included the training and maintenance of this material by France during some years.
