Russia, France to develop armoured vehicle

Moscow, June 30 (IANS) Russia and France will jointly develop a new armoured vehicle soon, Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport said.

The two countries have already made a model of the new infantry vehicle and will finish the work in the coming 18 months, Rosoboronexport deputy head Igor Sevastyanov told reporters during an engineering technologies forum in Zhukovsky near Moscow.

The development of the project, supported by the two armies, was at a French base with Russian weapons and turrets, Sevastyanov said, adding that the new carrier would appear in the near future meeting Russian and NATO standards, reported Xinhua.

Once put into production, the vehicle could be used by French or Russian armed forces.

France would also like to join the manufacturing phrase and sell it to third countries, Sevastyanov said.