page_title: Panhard AML
section_title: AML-90 Lynx
hierarchical_section_title: Panhard AML / Variants / AML-90 Lynx
caption_attribution_description: English: Cropped version of two previous Commons image. Turrets of Panhard armoured cars. Cropped for an article specifically on an armoured car/turret. Limited contextual relevance to original work.
context_page_description: The Panhard AML is a fast, long-ranged, and relatively cheap armoured car with excellent reconnaissance capability. Designed on a small, lightly armoured 4×4 chassis, it weighs an estimated 5.5 tonnes—much lighter than a tank—and is therefore more suited to rapid airborne deployments. Since 1959 AMLs have been marketed on up to five continents; several variants remained in continuous production for half a century. These have been operated by fifty-four national governments and other entities worldwide, seeing regular combat.
  The AML-245 was once regarded as one of the most heavily armed scout vehicles in service, fitted with a low velocity DEFA D921 90 mm rifled cannon firing conventional high explosive and high explosive anti-tank shells, or a 60 mm breech loading mortar with 53 rounds and dual 7.5mm MAS AA-52 NF-1 machine guns with 3,800 rounds, all mounted coaxially in the turret. An AML is capable of destroying targets at 1,500 meters with its D921 main gun. In this configuration it is considered a match for second-line and older main battle tanks.
  AMLs have appeared most prominently in Angola, Iraq, and Chad, as well as in the Lebanese Civil War between 1975 and 1990.
context_section_description: Also known as the AML D-90 Lynx, the AML-90 Lynx was a heavily upgraded and modernised AML-90 fitted with a sophisticated turret and ranging system. Like the H-90, the D-90 Lynx turret mounted the same D921 90 mm gun on the right and a co-axial 7.62mm machine gun on the left. The main armament now had an improved elevation gear and could be elevated from −8° to +35°. Other modifications included the replacement of the unlit optical sights with TJN2-90 combined day/night sights. The new sights were designed around a light intensifier tube with automatic gain control to enable sighting in the darkness without the need for artificial illumination, and had a range of nearly 2 km (1.2 mi). They could be fitted with additional features such as slope compensation or tachometry facilities. A menagerie of other sights and sighting equipment were also offered with the AML-90 Lynx for export customers, including the same CANASTA night sights package and electronics suite as fitted to the AMX-10RC. The CANASTA system included a low-light television camera and display units for the AML's gunner and commander, along with a moving electronic reticle with sight angle corrections. This somewhat compensated for low hit probability from the first 90 mm round at long range, allowing for the automatic engagement of moving targets.
  One of the defining characteristics of the AML-90 Lynx was the large searchlight mounted co-axially with its 90 mm gun, a domed commander's cupola with vision blocks reminiscent of the Eland Mk7, and a boxlike laser rangefinder on the gun mantlet. Two types of French laser rangefinders were available as standard, although several foreign designs such as the Avimo LV3 could also be fitted: the TCV 107 and the TCV 29. Both rangefinders automatically calculate the range to target and feed this information to the crew commander, eliminating the need for rough estimation as before.
  AML-90 Lynxes were offered with a variety of new power plants, namely a Peugeot XD 3T diesel engine developing 71 kW (95 hp) for an extended range of 1,000 km (620 mi). In 1979, one AML-90 Lynx prototype was showcased with a Mercedes-Benz OM617 developing 86 kW (115 hp) but it remains unclear if this model entered production. The armament as fitted to the D-90 Lynx turret could be also configured greatly, including the modification of the D921 gun to fire APFSDS ammunition with a muzzle velocity of 1,350 m/s (4,400 ft/s), or its replacement with the considerably more powerful Cockerill Mk. III medium pressure 90 mm gun as mounted on the EE-9 Cascavel. Many of these turrets were equipped with hydraulic traverse, eliminating the necessity for manual operation. Traversing a powered Lynx turret through a full 360° takes less than fifteen seconds.
  The first export sales of the AML-90 Lynx were to Burundi, which ordered 12 in 1982. Morocco purchased 20 in 1988, and another 23 were accepted by the Chadian National Armed Forces (FANT) as military aid during the final stage of the Chadian–Libyan conflict. Small quantities were also donated by the French government to Senegal, Togo, and Guinea. An undisclosed number of Lebanese and Kenyan AML-90s have been upgraded with Lynx turrets as well.
caption: Bottom: Original H-90 turret.
  Top: Lynx 90 turret incorporating a new commander's cupola, sights, searchlight, and a laser rangefinder.
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