Panhard VAP

The Véhicule d'Action dans la Profondeur, abbreviated VAP and meaning deep action vehicle, is a light military vehicle built by the French firm Panhard for special operations far behind enemy lines. It is a development of the same maker's Véhicule Blindé Léger, keeping that vehicle's armoured floor as protection against landmines but dropping the side armour and the doors, which makes it a stealthy rather than a heavily protected design. The vehicle has an empty weight of 2,500 kilograms and a useful payload of 1,500 kilograms, which lets it carry a variety of weapons together with observation, tracking and communications equipment. Its engine is a Steyr diesel. Panhard presented it for missions such as reconnaissance, target designation and evacuation in extreme geographical and climatic conditions, with room for up to four men on long missions, and it drew the interest of the special forces of several countries.