The Lebanese army has received the new batch of arms supplied by France at the port of Beirut.
The ten VAB HOT Mephisto armoured vehicles fitted with anti-tank missile launcher turret, 95 HOT powerful anti-tank missiles, and 2 simulation systems – were delivered Tuesday as part of a French assistance program.
The new batch of a weapon and armoured vehicles, that was received by the Lebanese army, is a part of as part of the continuation of the plan of enhanced cooperation between Lebanon and France.
Former France President François Hollande has committed to donate military equipment, which is valued at around €40 million, during his visit to Lebanon in April 2016.
According to Army-technology.com, the VAB four-wheeled armoured vehicles donated to Lebanon were designated Mephisto by the French army, which retired them recently.
The vehicle offers a direct-fire capability against tanks or fortifications of up to 4,000m. Four missiles are ready to fire and eight HOT missiles are carried in reserve in two four-round magazines inside the vehicle.
The HOT missile is tube-launched and optically tracked using the SACLOS (Semi-Automatic Command to Line Of Sight) guidance system. In SACLOS, the operator has to continually point a sighting device at the target while the missile is in flight.