Vextra 105: Close Fire Support!

The Vextra 105 is a French experimental wheeled combat vehicle, primarily developed for the export market during the 1990s. Soon, this unique vehicle will be making its way to the top of the French ground forces tree in the Seek & Destroy major update!

Vextra 105: A Light Tank for France at Rank VI
Features:

• Superb agility!
  
• Good firepower.
  
• Light protection.

Vehicle History
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In the early 1990s, GIAT began work on developing a new wheeled combat vehicle around technical specifications set out by the French Army. By 1994, a demonstrator of the vehicle, featuring a 25 mm turret, was presented at the Eurosatory expo. After potential buyers from the export market showed interest in a more heavily armed variant, GIAT refined the design to incorporate a modified version of the TK 105 turret found on the AMX-10RC. Following just a short development period, trials were conducted in France as well as the UAE, in which the vehicle displayed excellent performance.

Despite promising test results, the vehicle didn’t manage to garner any further interest from potential foreign operators nor from the French Army. As a result, the project was quickly canceled and GIAT used the experience gained during development to apply it on the next project which resulted in the VBCI family of vehicles. The Vextra 105 prototype was subsequently sent to the tank museum in Saumur, and then was recovered by KNDS France (ex-GIAT) in 2019.
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Meet the Vextra 105!
This new vehicle coming to the French ground forces tree is going to help reinforce the lineup of French vehicles at its rank. Sporting good mobility and fitted with a powerful cannon, this nimble predator is coming to the Seek & Destroy major update. Let’s take a closer look then!




To the veterans among us, the Vextra 105 may appear familiar. Apart from visually resembling the well-known Italian Centauro, the Vextra 105’s turret and cannon housed within are close derivatives of the ones found on the AMX-10RC, a vehicle in which you may have already used. As such, the Vextra’s cannon sports excellent ballistic properties coupled with a versatile ammunition selection. In short, a perfect combination for engaging multiple heavily armored hostile targets.

Did you know? This vehicle’s name, “Vextra”, is an acronym for “Véhicule d'EXpérimentation de TRAnsmission”, since this vehicle was a demonstrator for a new transmission method developed by GIAT!



Being a wheeled vehicle, engineers placed a particularly high emphasis on the Vextra 105’s mobility. Equipped with a 700 HP engine, the Vextra 105 can reach a top speed of 120 km/h on paved roads, thus making it one of the fastest ground vehicles in War Thunder. Simultaneously, its high power-to-weight ratio not only ensures super acceleration but also provides this vehicle with phenomenal off-road capabilities. However, these are somewhat stretched to their limits when faced with particularly difficult terrain conditions such as deep snow or mud: something to definitely keep in mind when making changes to your tactics on the battlefield!

In your matches by Nicolas, Esport Lead Manager: “I've been looking forward to this tank for a while now! Since this is a lighter vehicle with good mobility, use that speed to your advantage when traversing around maps. Get to capture points quickly for your team and be a generally nuisance for the enemy, but remember that you’re quite a big target. Avoid using it in hull down positions due to its poor gun depression and light armor. Flank and have fun!”

The Vextra 105 will soon appear at rank VI of the French ground forces research tree in the Seek & Destroy major update. Make sure that you’re keeping an eye on our website for other exciting dev blogs that we’ll be revealing. Until then, happy hunting and enjoy your matches!