"The scale of the contract failure is off the charts": French armored vehicles purchased by Belgium turned out to be 10 times more expensive

Jaguar

In October 2018, Belgium announced its intention to purchase 382 VMBR Griffon multi-role armoured vehicles and 60 EBRC Jaguar reconnaissance and combat armoured vehicles from Paris for €1,5 billion with the aim of “achieving full interoperability with the French army.”

Then, as part of the expansion of this “partnership”, it was decided to also purchase CAESAr NG self-propelled howitzers and Griffon MEPAC airborne mortars from Paris. In March 2024, General Pierre Schill, Chief of Staff of the French Army, described this cooperation as “a model that Europe should follow and that should be extended across the continent”. Luxembourg then joined the program.

In April 2024, a factory was opened in Staden, Belgium, to assemble Griffon for the local army. However, as VRT Vlaamse Radio has learned, the Belgian Court of Auditors has issued a report with devastating criticism of the contract:

According to this document, the costs of purchasing and operating the Griffon and Jaguar armoured vehicles were estimated incorrectly and turned out to be 10 times higher than planned. If the costs of maintenance and investment in infrastructure are added to the initial amount of €1,5 billion, the programme will cost €14,4 billion.

Griffon

Thus, the costs of repairs or the construction of hangars to store the new equipment were not taken into account. To maintain operational readiness, €25 million will have to be paid annually for 60 years: this is €1,6 billion, which is equivalent to the initial purchase price. It will also be necessary to purchase spare parts and ammunition "at prices set by the French supplier". Since this data is confidential, "it is not possible to verify whether acceptable tariffs are applied to Belgium".

The Defense Acquisition Service has not conducted any formal risk analysis, especially regarding price controls. At the same time, the Defense Ministry “forgot” to demand greater guarantees of economic benefits from this program.

- the report says.

Its leak has prompted several political parties, especially opposition ones, to pay close attention to the issue.

The scale of the contract failure is off the charts

- local parliamentarians say.

Comments

[Appraiser]

The French armored vehicles purchased by Belgium turned out to be 10 times more expensive.... What's surprising about that, it's business, nothing personal, just money and only money....

[Uncle lee]

Quote: Appraiser

only money and only money...

then the program will cost €14,4 billion.

And where do you get such crazy money?
And who will give it back?

[karabas-barabas]

And what does the price of maintenance, repair, training and storage have to do with the cost of the machine itself? In other countries and armies it is different, all this is given for free as an extra? Article from the series - let's stretch a small owl on the globe of Jupiter.

[Ezekiel 25-17]

For that kind of money, you could put the entire Belgian army on Bentleys.

[Chifka]

Did I understand correctly that the maintenance and infrastructure for servicing these armored vehicles is 9 times more expensive than their cost? Cool! Bourgeois, what? They probably vacuum inside every day.

[English tarantas]

Did I understand correctly that the maintenance and infrastructure for servicing these armored vehicles is 9 times more expensive than their cost?

And here the question is how and what was counted.
Let's say they calculated the cost of spare parts for 10 years in advance. It will be necessary to include the purchase of complete sets of spare parts, from which almost a third of the fleet of cars can still be assembled, because who knows what exactly will break, you need to have all the parts. Plus, on top of this, the cost of all the spare parts that will need to be replaced according to the service life will be included. For example, if they plan to use the car for 10 years, and the thermal imager matrix has a service life of 5 years, then it will be necessary to include the cost of another IR matrix. And in this way, the prices of all the most expensive parts of the car can be included.
Well, and again, maybe they also included the cost of reconstructing all the roads in Belgium, the salaries of military personnel for the period of mastering the new equipment, bonuses for officers for the successful mastering of the equipment by personnel, triple the cost of ammunition, saying that they will shoot an unimaginable amount of ammunition at the training grounds for practice, like they will study well.
If you want, you can count this.

[Alexey RA]

Quote: English tarantass

Let's say they calculated the cost of spare parts for 10 years ahead. It will be necessary to include the purchase of complete sets of spare parts, from which almost a third of the fleet of cars can still be assembled, because who knows what exactly will break, you need to have all the parts. Plus, on top of this, the cost of all the spare parts that will need to be replaced according to the deadline will be included.

I remember the Sevastopol-class battleships, where just one set of spare guns and ammunition cost a quarter of the ship.

[Dock1272]

Not necessarily. After all, many companies have been pursuing this policy for a long time: They set dumping prices for the products themselves (and at the same time remove competitors) And on the contrary, they inflate the prices for original consumables and spare parts... Remember the unforgettable HP. In the 2s (I don't know now))) buying a color printer cost from 5 to 900 thousand. And each cartridge for it cost from 1100-2 rubles. And there had to be XNUMX of them in a set (black - more often, color - less often). Now the main income is no longer from selling the product, but from servicing ... Supplying consumables and spare parts ...

[Vlad2012]

To reduce the cost of the VBMR Griffon design, the following key technologies and solutions were used:

Using commercial components
1. Engine
An adapted Renault Trucks 400hp commercial diesel engine has been installed, simplifying logistics and reducing production costs
2. Transmission
The serial automatic transmission ZF, widely used in civil transport, is used.
3. Chassis
The base platform is built on a commercial 6x6 all-wheel drive chassis, eliminating the need for a custom design.

Unification and modularity
Compatible with EBRC Jaguar
Up to 70% of components (including the power plant and electronics) are common with the Jaguar reconnaissance and combat vehicle, which has allowed for the optimization of production lines.
Modifications on a single base
The six versions of Griffon (armored personnel carrier, command post, medical vehicle, etc.) are built on a common chassis, minimizing development costs.

[English tarantas]

To reduce the cost of the VBMR Griffon design, the following key technologies and solutions were used:

It's not the first time the French have done something like this. If there's one thing they know how to do, it's wheeled vehicles. Just look at the ACMAT - a car kit for the most grown-ups.
These new vehicles are akin to assembling an armored personnel carrier based on a KAMAZ truck.
It's not clear why our guys are scratching their heads. They would have assembled two families of armored fighting vehicles to replace armored personnel carriers based on the Typhoon R&D project a hundred years ago, a lighter one on the Urals and a heavier one on the KAMAZ. Why don't they install a BTR-80 turret on the KAMAZ? You see, the income from purchases could be used to force the plant to invest in modernization, R&D, salary increases, and targeted training and industrial training programs.

[English tarantas]

After all, many companies have been pursuing such a policy for a long time now.

the main income is now not from selling the product, but from servicing

And not without it.
Life by subscription, fuck it.
"A great offer, only today, instead of buying the item entirely for $100, you can subscribe to it for 10 years for only $15 per month, or take out a loan for $100 for the same 10 years with an incredibly favorable personal rate of only 20% per annum."
"We also took out the floor mats and everything else that wasn't screwed or welded tightly from your new car and are ready to offer to return them to you for just a quarter of the cost of the car."
The merchants won.

[Vasyan1971]

Quote: Chifka

They probably vacuum inside every day.

Specially hired Ukrobeshentsy lick with their tongues.

[Maxim G]

It's crazy, it turns out that a car needs a garage, maintenance, and repairs.

[Vladimir 290]

I was especially pleased with the "garage", apparently the Belgian army did not have any parks before buying this equipment. And in general, it is interesting how they do maintenance and repair. Previously, our commanders plus a repair company managed, more difficult repair battalions and then sent them to repair factories on cruisers. Then Taburetkin dispersed the repair units, and now it turns out that under the USSR they were not fools and these structures are needed in the troops.

[Maxim G]

Well, everything deteriorates over time.

Quote: Vladimir 290

I was especially pleased with the "garage"; apparently the Belgian army did not have any parks before purchasing this equipment.

[English tarantas]

I was especially pleased with the "garage"; apparently the Belgian army did not have any parks before purchasing this equipment.

Who knows. Maybe they just needed major repairs on a number of buildings, and they decided that they needed to write in the documents that we would send these vehicles to those units where all the garages needed to be overhauled, and in the scandalous report we would write that this major repair was needed specifically for the new armored vehicles.

[karabas-barabas]

Quote: Vladimir 290

Then Taburetkin dispersed the repair units

Well, of course, it was Taburetkin who apparently spent more than a trillion dollars on whatever he could find and “re-equipped” the army with the “most modern” as Field Marshal Generalissimo Shoyga liked to tell on TV Zvizda do SVO.

[Ivan№One]

Well, if you don’t saw off military contracts, then what else can you saw off?
In the pharmaceutical industry they still say it is profitable, but this was a fashionable topic 5 years ago

PS
"buy from Paris 382 multi-purpose armored vehicles VMBR Griffon and 60 reconnaissance and combat armored vehicles EBRC Jaguar for €1,5 billion euros"
1,5 billion for 440 new armored vehicles? Wasn't that suspiciously cheap to begin with?

[Montezuma]

I remember how in 2012 a certain Serdyukov really wanted to buy IVECO armored vehicles in Italy, considering them better and more reliable than domestic "Tigers", and even signed a contract. I can imagine the costs of their maintenance, especially after the introduction of sanctions for Crimea. It's good that there were sober heads in the Ministry of Defense at that time, and the matter ended with the purchase of a small trial batch of vehicles.

[Vlad2012]

Their production was supposed to be localized at KAMAZ. And as far as I remember, it was their initiative. A normal topic. Wouldn't it be bad to have, for example, an Iveco engine, gearbox?

[Montezuma]

Quote: Vlad2012

And as far as I remember, it was their initiative.

There was, it seems, such an agreement. But would it have been realized in reality? It was a so-so idea, with hopes for promising cooperation with a NATO country. An example of this is the sad story of the Mistral helicopter carriers.

[Vlad2012]

In 2012 it wasn't so obvious. GAZ, VAZ, where did it all start?

[karabas-barabas]

Quote: Montezuma

It was a so-so idea, with hopes for promising cooperation with a NATO country

In fact, Taburetkin not only brought Iveco to Russia and localized the production of Rys, which could transfer the technology of wheeled armored vehicles of the Russian Federation to another level, but also Rheinmetall, Thales, etc. For example, the Typhoon-K has German metal-ceramic plates on the sides, all BMD-4, T-72B3, T-90M have French thermal imagers and much more. After Crimea, of course, all this went down the drain, but not all, the French supplied parts of the fire control system even before the SVO. But even before 2014, there was plenty to organize the production of analogues. And Taburetkin also forced the military-industrial complex to engage in the development of modern armored vehicles, Boomerang to replace the BTR-80, Kurganets to replace the BMP-3, Armata to replace the T-72/90, for which he actually brought the Germans and the French. But Shoyga, as is well known, became the Generalissimo of the Russian Armed Forces back in 2012 and decided that the army needed the products of those who would make his life and that of his entourage better.

[Bookworm]

This would be the best purchase since the "Kamaz", if of course we mean a full cycle, and not screwdriver assembly

[karabas-barabas]

Quote: Montezuma

I remember how in 2012 a certain Serdyukov really wanted to buy IVECO armored vehicles in Italy, considering them better and more reliable than domestic Tigers.

So, the MRAP Lynx is one of the best MRAPs in its class, in many NATO armies it has saved more than one life thanks to its excellent anti-mine protection, unlike the Tiger. And they managed to produce about 130 of them in the Russian Federation, localize production, one of the best brands in the world regarding engines, chassis, etc., until Shoyga came and the officials sawing up the domestic military-industrial complex did not foist off the Tiger on the army, which is worse than the Lynx in all respects. Now all the Lynxes have been snatched up by generals and several dozen have appeared in Kadyrov's escort. Thanks to these "sober heads" now in the SVO they are going to storm on loaves of bread and electric scooters.

[alexputnik17]

A normal Western contract!
At a cost of 14,4 armored vehicles it comes out to the price of a Russian airplane.

[karabas-barabas]

Quote: alexputnik17

A normal Western contract!

In Russia, of course, everything is better and more effective. Only the Belgians will at least see modern armored vehicles. But what did Shoyga spend more than a trillion dollars on (in addition to the budget of the Russian Defense Ministry, of course) from 2012 to 2022?

[kill the fascist]

It looked smooth on paper, but they forgot about the ravines :)

[Minrep]

So what? Some gypsies cheated other gypsies.

[Romanenko]

"The scale of the contract failure is off the charts": French armored vehicles purchased by Belgium turned out to be 10 times more expensive

Well, there they go, they started whining. Well, the French spent too much, and decided to squeeze out the money. Well, what's there to worry about, you live in the same European Union, first the French grabbed it, then the Belgians will grab it, the money still didn't leave the "friendly family".
It happens that a thief stole a club from a thief.

[solar]

The article shows that if they are maintained for 25 years, the price will approximately double, only 3 billion. Nothing special for military equipment, if it is constantly used in operation, the maintenance of armored modern combat equipment with its electronics is not a cheap pleasure at all. It is difficult to understand from the article where the other 11 came from.

[Amateur]

Well, here we started to speak: "Shoigu...Shoigu..."

[Zhenya Loza]

Well, you are the one who keeps making speeches, you can’t feed us bread with speeches, but we have Shoigu working as the Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.

[English tarantas]

maintenance costs and infrastructure investment

That is, the Belgians decided to thoroughly rearm, but did not immediately think that simply buying new vehicles would not work, and belatedly calculated how much the actual rearmament would cost, the cost of building the entire infrastructure, from production to storage and transportation, as well as the costs of maintenance and operation.
And what a headline, as if someone lobbied someone for a contract, hiding the real prices.
It's more likely that the military simply decided that this was the way it should be, and one of the budget bigwigs in parliament held back on allocating the money, and is now creating sensations and scandals a la "they are trying to deceive us."

[karabas-barabas]

Firstly, I also think so, they are most likely quoting a message from social networks of some populist oppositionist. And secondly, for some reason there are no links to Belgian or any other media or anything else where the sensation came from. In general, considering the amount of equipment and the entire operating cycle, the amount is not that high.

[Zaurbek]

I wonder how the French would have replenished their losses (and repaired) their magnificent BT in a conflict like 404?!

[Grancer81]

Someone just got a good kickback again...

[Bookworm]

Do they have riveted bodies?

[Dutchman Michel]

Quote: Appraiser

it's business, nothing personal, just money

It's clear to the horse that there were kickbacks involved.

[Maks1995]

IMHO, much ado about nothing.

2 different things. The initial purchase price and the operating price over 25 years
salaries of soldiers, gasoline, repairs, storage, spare parts, ammunition, etc.
for example: only 1 military driver - salary 3 thousand euros per month - 66 per year - a million 650 thousand in 25 years
442 cars, you say?

Conclusion: nonsense for those who can't count?