The French Army cleared the upgraded EBRC Jaguar for operational use on July 20, 2026. By Sept. 18, 2026, close to 25 of the 25-ton, six-wheeled reconnaissance and combat vehicles had been delivered or retrofitted to the new R3 standard, KNDS France said on Sept. 23, 2026. The R3 pairs the Jaguar’s 40mm cannon with Akeron MP anti-tank missiles that reach out to 4,000 meters, according to the company.
The R3 is the standard KNDS describes as bringing together the full set of technical and operational capabilities planned for the vehicle. Every Jaguar delivered at the earlier R2 standard is scheduled to be brought up to it.
The KNDS France release, datelined Versailles, says the first R3 vehicles were delivered during summer 2026 and that the milestone was “confirmed on 18 September 2026 by the French Ministry of the Armed Forces.” The release states: “As of 18 September 2026, close to 25 EBRC Jaguar vehicles at R3 standard had been delivered to or retrofitted for the French Army.” Deliveries and retrofits to the new standard will continue through 2026, the company said.
Certified in April, cleared for operations in July
The R3 went through two gates before reaching units. Per the KNDS release, France’s defense procurement agency, the DGA, certified the standard “fit for service” on April 8, 2026, more than three months before the Army’s July 20 authorization.
Inside, the Jaguar carries a crew of three, a vehicle commander, a gunner and a driver, according to a French Ministry of the Armed Forces programming-law fact sheet on the Jaguar, which also lists a remotely operated 7.62mm machine gun alongside the 40mm cannon.
The Jaguar is built by a temporary consortium of KNDS France, Arquus and Thales. KNDS supplies the weapons system, Thales the common vetronics (the vehicle’s shared electronics) and Arquus the mobility system, according to the company. KNDS is the industrial architect and systems integrator for SCORPION, the French Army’s program to modernize its land forces, which also covers the Griffon armored vehicle.
What the R3 standard adds to the T40 turret
The firepower sits in the T40 turret, which KNDS says it designed and developed. The release describes a digitized turret that “combines a high-rate-of-fire 40 mm cannon with Akeron MP anti-tank missiles, giving it the ability to neutralise targets at both short and long range, up to 4,000 metres.”
KNDS lists three areas where R3 moves past earlier standards. First are new-generation sensors and effectors. Second is “the ability to redesignate missiles in flight,” which lets the crew change a missile’s target after launch. Third is a reworked human-machine interface, which KNDS says consolidates information from the sensors, fire control and the vehicle’s other systems so the crew can decide faster. These are the manufacturer’s descriptions of the standard.
The missile comes from MBDA. The company’s Akeron MP product page lists “Fire & Forget and Man-On-The-Loop modes,” selectable anti-tank, anti-infrastructure and anti-personnel modes, and a “high resolution dual mode uncooled IR/TV seeker.” MBDA also describes it as combat proven, a company claim.
A replacement for the AMX-10RC
The Jaguar was ordered to retire an older generation of French cavalry vehicles. A DGA briefing file on the Griffon and Jaguar from February 2022 says the Jaguar is “destiné à remplacer les chars légers AMX10RC et Sagaie, ainsi que les VAB équipés des missiles HOT,” meaning it is intended to replace the AMX-10RC and Sagaie light tanks and the VAB vehicles fitted with HOT missiles. The same file records that in April 2017 the DGA ordered the first 20 Jaguars from Nexter Systems, Arquus and Thales, that the first 20 were delivered in 2021, and that the 2030 target was 300 Jaguars.
The DGA file also describes the cannon as a 40mm weapon firing telescoped ammunition, mounted in a stabilized turret, with a pod of two medium-range missiles to round out the vehicle’s firepower.
The Jaguar has customers beyond France. KNDS says Belgium and Luxembourg selected it under their CaMo (Capacité Motorisée) program. The next milestone is in France’s own fleet: according to the Sept. 23, 2026 KNDS release, “all vehicles delivered at R2 standard are to be upgraded to R3 standard by the end of 2027.”
Top image: A French Army EBRC Jaguar on display in Paris on July 14, 2020, before the R3 upgrade. Image Credit: Constance Nommick/French Army — Licence Ouverte / Wikimedia Commons
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Combat Rated editors prior to publication.