RTD becomes Arquus

Arquus Defense is rooted in a century of innovation and development at the service of the armed forces. This industrial tradition, which began with Panhard and Levassor, has marked the history of national defense through mythical figures such as Marius Berliet (the trucks of the Sacred Way) and Louis Renault, co-inventor of the FT 17. It has produced equally legendary armored vehicles such as the AML, EBR, VBL and VLBRA, to provide support, liaison and reconnaissance, and the VAB personnel carrier. Today it is reflected in the armored vehicles in the Scorpion program and the development of the vehicles of the future.

Well-established in France with five production centers and a design office of more than five hundred engineers backed up by a flexible industrial structure, Arquus maintains and perfects expert know-how, enriched by one hundred years of manufacturing legendary armored vehicles and increasing investment in innovation.

These vehicles of today and tomorrow are the product of close cooperation between military leaders and industry leaders. They are also the result of the technical brilliance of engineers and operators, and the successful outcome of a strategy that is constantly reassessed and adjusted accordingly.

Arquus has annual revenue of €500 million, a healthy order book evenly spread over France, exports and in-service vehicle support, and a wide range of products, including the Bastion, the Griffon, the Sherpa and the VBCI. Arquus' teams provide in-service vehicle support for 90% of the French Army’s vehicles, totaling 25,000 Arquus vehicles currently in service.

Arquus’ order book for exports is continually growing and includes a recent large order for 300 Sherpas for a Gulf state, an SFMC contract in the pipeline, and very good results in Africa. Arquus’ product range is renowned, in France and abroad, for the excellent quality of its chassis and systems, the mobility and endurance offered on every type of terrain, and the high level of protection for operating crews.

The current geostrategic and competitive environment prompted Arquus to analyze the company’s positioning in the land-based arms industry and its entire spectrum of products and services. The company identified the key issues and challenges resulting from a shifting strategic context. The time was right to develop an updated strategy and create a new corporate identity.

Faced with growing geostrategic complexity and to better meet customers’ needs, Renault Trucks Defense, ACMAT and Panhard decided to combine their expertise and join forces under a single brand: Arquus.

The name Arquus comes from two Latin roots: arma and equus. Equus is the horse that endows the soldier with mobility on the battlefield. Arma are the weapons, the vehicles’ armament.

Arquus is thus a contraction of armis equus: the warhorse, the soldier’s trusted companion in battle. Arma is also the root of the word armor. Protected mobility is indeed an integral part of Arquus’ DNA. Arquus thus refers to both the mobility and agility that modern mounts must offer the armed forces, and to the protection needed against projectiles, shrapnel, and all kinds of improvised devices that threaten soldiers on the battlefield.

Ever attentive to its customers’ needs, Arquus offers an impressive array of agile, protected, tailored products, tried and tested on every theater of operations, in both France and abroad. Its offering is enriched with increasingly efficient vehicle support services to guarantee the operational availability and durability of vehicles and equipment.

The aim of Arquus is to be the leading European expert in light and medium-sized wheeled armored tactical vehicles. To this end, the company has rolled out a complete, updated offering of products and services worldwide. Arquus offers governments complete land systems and effective integrated support, provided by an international team, for their defense and security.

The Volvo Group is more determined than ever to support Arquus’ growth with its full range of resources and by contributing to the development of its industrial sites, which today employ 1,500 people in the employment basins of Saint-Nazaire, Marolles en Hurepoix, Saint-Germain Laval, Limoges, and Garchizy.