France Says It Pledged AMX-10 RC ‘Light Tanks’ to Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday pledged to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Paris will provide Kyiv with AMX-10 RC armored combat vehicles as Ukraine has been seeking Western-made tanks.

A French official said that the AMX-10 RC vehicles will be the “first time that Western-made armored vehicles are being delivered in support of the Ukrainian army.” But the armored vehicles fall short of the heavier tanks that Zelensky has been asking for, such as US-made Abrams tanks.

The AMX-10 RC, which France described as a “light tank,” was built in the 1980s and is being phased out by the French military. The vehicle is lightweight and is on six wheels as opposed to the tracks that heavier tanks have, but the AMX-10 RC is equipped with a powerful 105mm gun.