Panhard AML

Panhard AML-245
Panhard AML-245
	Panhard AML at the Musée des Blindés, Saumur.
Type	Armored car
Place of origin	France
Service history
Used by	See Operators
Wars	List of Conflicts Algerian War ; Portuguese Colonial War ; Six-Day War ; War of Attrition ; Angolan Civil War ; Cambodian Civil War ; Yom Kippur War ; Falklands War ; Lebanese Civil War ; Shaba II ; Ethiopian Civil War ; Eritrean War of Independence ; Salvadoran Civil War ; Western Sahara War ; Chadian–Libyan conflict ; Somali Civil War ; Iran–Iraq War ; Gulf War ; Djiboutian Civil War ; Rwandan Civil War ; First Congo War ; Second Congo War ; 2003 invasion of Iraq ; Second Sudanese Civil War ; Djiboutian–Eritrean border conflict ; 2004 French–Ivorian clashes ; First Ivorian Civil War ; Second Ivorian Civil War ; 2007 Lebanon conflict ; Internal conflict in Burma ; Operation Linda Nchi ; Yemeni Crisis (2011–present) ; Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon ;
Production history
Designed	1959
Manufacturer	Panhard
Produced	1960–1987
No. built	4,812
Variants	See Variants
Specifications
Mass	5.5 tonnes (6.1 short tons; 5.4 long tons)
Length	5.11 m (16 ft 9 in)
length	3.79 m (12 ft 5 in) (hull)
Width	1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)
Height	2.07 m (6 ft 9 in)
Crew	3 (commander, driver, gunner)
Main; armament	90 mm D921/GIAT F1 (20 rounds); 60mm Brandt mortar (53 rounds)
Secondary; armament	7.62 mm MAS coaxial machine gun (2,400–3,800 rounds)
Engine	Panhard 1.99 L (121 in3) Model 4 HD flat 4-cylinder air-cooled petrol; 90 hp (67 kW) at 4,700 rpm
Power/weight	16.36 hp/tonne (11.9 kW/tonne)
Suspension	Wheeled 4x4
Ground clearance	0.33 m (1 ft 1 in)
Fuel capacity	156 L (41 US gal)
Operational; range	600 km (370 mi)
Maximum speed	100 km/h (62 mph)

The Panhard AML (Auto Mitrailleuse Légère, or "Light Machine Gun Car") is an armoured car with reconnaissance capability. Designed on a lightly armoured 4×4 chassis, it weighs an estimated 5.5 tonnes, and is thus suitable for airborne deployment. Since 1959, AMLs have been marketed on up to five continents; several variants remained in continuous production for half a century. These have been operated by fifty-four national governments and other entities worldwide, seeing regular combat.

The AML-245 was once regarded as one of the most heavily armed scout vehicles in service, fitted with a low velocity DEFA D921 90 mm (3.54 in) rifled cannon firing conventional high explosive and high explosive anti-tank shells, or a 60 mm (2.36 in) breech loading mortar with 53 rounds and dual 7.5mm MAS AA-52 NF-1 machine guns with 3,800 rounds, all mounted coaxially in the turret. An AML is capable of destroying targets at 1,500 meters with its D921 main gun. In this configuration it is considered a match for second-line and older main battle tanks.

AMLs have appeared most prominently in Angola, Iraq, and Chad, as well as in the Lebanese Civil War between 1975 and 1990.

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