France's New Armored Car Looks, Moves Like a Crab

 

·        France's Scarabée armored car can lock its front and rear axles to move sideways across a battlefield.

·        The vehicle is designed to serve as an air-droppable scout car, collecting battlefield intel.

·        Scarabée also features a hybrid electric drive system that reduces its infrared signature.

France’s Arquus has released new details on its Scarabée light armored vehicle. The car, designed to act as a scout on the battlefield, can get itself out of tight spots by locking its front and rear axles, allowing it to move diagonally like a crab.

This ability lets the vehicle move forward to an observation position without exposing its flanks or rear, where armor is the lightest. The Scarabée also has a tight turning radius of just 36 feet, according to Defense News.

The eight-ton Scarabée carries a crew of one driver and three passengers and features a 4x4 wheel layout. It can climb a 60-degree gradient, cross a 2.9-foot-wide ditch, and ford water obstacles almost three feet deep. The vehicle can be embarked in a C-130J Super Hercules, an A-400M Atlas transport, or a larger military transport aircraft.

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