Belgian firm John Cockerill has announced it is exclusively negotiating with Volvo Group to buy French armoured vehicle manufacturer Arquus, previously known as Renault Trucks Defense, which comes the Swedish group announced its intention to sell.
"The transaction is pending the usual suspension conditions, particularly corporate consultations and regulatory approval," said the industrial group in a press statement.
John Cockerill CEO François Michel said the anticipated purchase of Arquus is a game-changer for the European defence sector, particularly light tank manufacturing. He noted that the combination of John Cockerill Defense’s light tank turrets and Arquus’s vehicles would create significant synergies leading to more innovative, competitive ground vehicles worldwide, starting with France, Belgium, and other partner countries.
The integrated operations of John Cockerill Defense and Arquus are projected to generate an annual turnover of €1 billion and employ 2,000 professionals by 2026. The statement also indicated having major operational bases in Belgium, France, Italy, India and Saudi Arabia.
Arquus, renamed by Swedish equipment manufacturer Volvo in 2018, is the main provider of land vehicles for the French army. It has co-developed the Griffon multirole armoured vehicles for troop transport and the Jaguar armoured fighting vehicle with Nexter – a company of the KNDS group (KMW+Nexter Defense Systems) and Thales, mainly for the French and Belgian ground forces.
Belgium has purchased 60 Jaguar and 382 Griffon vehicles from France as part of the CaMo (Capacité Motorisée) bi-national project, nicknamed Scorpion by France.
Belgium and France are also cooperating on the Véhicule blindé d’Aide à l’Engagement (VBAE) project, which will ultimately equip the two countries’ ground forces and potentially Luxembourg’s.
The name Arquus is a contraction of “Armis Equus”, which means “war horse” in Latin.
“Finalising this agreement bolsters our industrial base and job longevity in this sector with a key industrial and operational partner,” said Belgian Defence Minister Ludivine Dedonder, noting the deal’s enhancing of European strategic autonomy, vital in the current security context. She added that this requires further integration of European industrial resources and increased military interoperability.
