'Turn any tank into your next UGV': France's Foreign Legion may get thousands of XXL robot mules built from retired tanks — though the demo inconveniently sits on one of only two AMX-32s ever made
KNDS and S2M's REFURBOT conversion kit resurfaced at France's National Infantry Days as a heavy robotic mule for the 2nd REI, but it is still a prototype with no published payload, price, or order.
France's Foreign Legion may soon be using robot mules built from retired tanks, thanks to a project called REFURBOT. This robotization kit, developed by French SMEs S2M Equipment and KNDS France, turns decommissioned armored vehicles into Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs). The machine was showcased at France's National Infantry Days at Draguignan, where it was described as an "XXL robotic mule" for the Foreign Legion's 2nd REI, based in Nîmes.
The REFURBOT project uses the TOXO kit, which consists of a remote weapon station, radar, lidar, GNSS, and a ring of cameras, allowing the UGV to engage targets and perform supply duties. The raw materials for this project exist; France built 3,571 AMX-30 family vehicles between 1966 and 1994, and the army has been dismantling about 50 AMX-30s a year since 2015.
However, the AMX-32, which the REFURBOT project used, is an export derivative with only two prototypes ever built. Despite these challenges, the shift towards using tanks as mules is seen as a promising solution to modern militaries' logistics and mobility needs.
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