VBC-90

VBC-90
Type	Armoured car
Place of origin	France
Service history
Used by	Mobile Gendarmerie Royal Army of Oman
Production history
Manufacturer	Renault Véhicules Industriels/Creusot-Loire
Specifications ()
Weight	13,500 kilograms (29,800 lb)
Length	5.63 m (18 ft 6 in) 8.135 m (26 ft 8.3 in) (gun forward)
Width	2.50 m (8 ft 2 in)
Height	2.552 m (8 ft 4.5 in)
Crew	3
Main armament	90 mm gun
Secondary armament	7.62 mm machine gun
Engine	Renault MIDS 06.20.45 6 cylinder water-cooler diesel engine 160 kilowatts (220 hp)
Power/weight	16 hp/tonne
Suspension	6x6 wheel
Operational range	1,000 km (620 mi)
Speed	92 km/h (57 mph)

The Renault VBC-90 (Véhicule Blindé de Combat, or "Armoured Combat Vehicle") is a six-wheeled French armoured car carrying a 90mm high-velocity gun mated to a sophisticated fire control computer and ranging system. It was developed primarily for internal security or armed reconnaissance purposes. Modeled after Renault's Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé (VAB) armoured personnel carrier, the VBC-90 was engineered in concert with Saviem and Creusot-Loire. One was also built in prototype form by Argentina, where it was known as the Vehículos de Apoyo y Exploración. VBC-90s were available with various chassis configurations resembling both the VAB and the Berliet VXB-170.

The VBC-90 was developed by Renault and Saviem as a specialized reconnaissance and fire support variant of the Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé. It had a very wide turret ring and was manufactured specifically to carry a large-calibre gun system. At least two prototypes had been completed by 1979 and were initially designated VCS-90. The first two had boat-shaped hulls and glacis plates reminiscent of the VXB-170 and VAB, respectively. They essentially resembled six-wheeled variants of these vehicles, albeit with larger turret rings. The third had a more unique hull and a sloping glacis plate. It was this variant which was eventually accepted for production as the VBC-90.

Unlike the VAB, the VBC was not developed to meet a French Army requirement and was intended solely for export to French military clients overseas. Nevertheless, in 1984 the French government ordered 28 VBC-90s for a single squadron of the Mobile Gendarmerie, possibly as a replacement or complement for the ageing Panhard AML-90 in front-line service. VBCs produced by Renault for the Gendarmerie were designated VBC-90G. Another 6 were delivered to Oman between 1984 and 1985 as part of a much larger shipment of VABs for the Royal Omani Guard.

Oman has since announced it will be phasing out its VBC-90s in favor of the much more heavily armed B1 Centauro.