In the context of the defense reinforcement of NATO’s eastern wing
Thirteen Leclerc main battle tanks are being transported by rail from Mourmelon-le-Grand in northeastern France to the Cincu base in Romania as part of NATO’s eastern flank defense reinforcement.
The shipment is “the last act of a complex logistical operation, which consisted of the transport by road and rail of an armored brigade bound for Romania,” Colonel Samuel told AFP (the French army forbids the publication of the names of its members). who are responsible for logistics at the ground army command center for continental Europe in Lille, northern France.
The aim is to strengthen the mission, under French command, which began on February 28, 2022 in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The tanks are “in a defensive position”.
The 13 tanks will travel “a little more than 2,000 km”, that is “a week’s journey, by rail, passing through five different countries in Europe”, said Colonel Samuel.
“They are powerful weapons of war but they are placed in a defensive position,” he explained.
The first armored personnel carrier (VBCI) convoys left on October 18 from the camp of Mourmillon-le-Grand, with the assistance of the 516th supply regiment of Toul, in eastern France.
In total, “we are in the process of transporting about 150 combat vehicles, with all their equipment and ammunition, which shows France’s position with its NATO allies” in eastern Europe, Colonel Samuel observed.
When asked in relation to information in the newspaper Le Monde, according to which Germany allegedly refused to transport these tanks by road, forcing France to charter trains, Colonel Samuel replied that “from the beginning” the army had “anticipated” to use railways and road transport.
“The railway was chosen to meet the technical standards, mainly those of Germany. The overall logistical handling is taking place at the same time as planned,” Colonel Pierre Godiguere, spokesman for the general staff of the Armed Forces, told AFP earlier.
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