ERC 90 Sagaie The Panhard ERC 90 ( " Engin de Reconnaissance à Canon de 90 mm " ) is a French six - wheeled armoured all terrain vehicle which is highly mobile and amphibious with an option of being NBC - proof . While various models were tested , only two versions of the ERC were developed and produced : the " Lynx " and the " Sagaie " . The only difference between the two versions being the type of main cannon mounted in the turret . " Sagaie " is French for Assegai , a type of African Spear . Background . The Sagaie is originally a private - export project , the ERC 90 wheeled armoured vehicles were developed by Panhard in the last half of the 1970s as successor to its highly successful four wheel AML and M3 armoured vehicles . Design . The ERC and VCR are a family of six wheel armoured reconnaissance vehicles , the ERC being the cannon armed turret model and the VCR being the armoured personnel carrier version . ERC is the French abbreviation of term " Engin de Reconnaissance Canon " , or Gun - armed Reconnaissance Vehicle . The ERC shares many components of the VCR vehicles . Two main versions of the ERC were developed : the first model being the ERC F1 90 " Lynx " followed by the ERC F4 90 " Sagaie " . The " Lynx " appearing about 1977 and the " Sagaie " following approximately two years later in 1979 . The " Lynx " was developed primarily as an armoured reconnaissance vehicle . The " Sagaie " was also a primary armoured reconnaissance vehicle , with the added secondary role of tank - destroyer . Panhard purposed in 1977 both the ERC and the VCR vehicles to the French Army , but lost the largest contract to a four wheeled armoured vehicle offered by Saviem with its VAB and the cannon armed reconnaissance vehicle requirement to a vehicle offered by GIAT the AMX 10 RC and also lost a much smaller order for the French Mobile Gendarmerie to the Saviem VBC - 90 . But Panhard later found success for both VRC and ERC as a private project in the world export market , and later with the ERC version with orders from the French Army , which had at first rejected the Panhard contender . Production history . The first production orders for the ERC 90 F1 " Lynx " , was an order for 36 in October 1979 from Argentina , for employment by its Marines to patrol the long border between Argentina and Chile . The second large order was from Mexico for 42 " Lynxs " in early 1981 . Both countries ordered the ERC " Lynx " version , because of its ability to elevate or depress its 90mm cannon over a wider range for operations in steep mountain terrain . Further export orders followed . Both nations also appreciated the all terrain mobility of the ERC 90 F1 " Lynx " which is enhanced by the capability to raise or lower the central pair of wheels depending on terrain condition , especially in sandy or muddy ground . All versions of the ERC are also equipped with two hydrojets behind the rear wheels and require no preparation for amphibious operations . ERC 90 F4 " Sagaie " . Shortly after the ERC 90 F1 Lynx had been built for export , Panhard recognised the need for a cost effective light armoured vehicle that could defeat more modern main battle tanks ( MBT ) , like the Russian T - 72 which was being exported to many nations . They developed a turret in which they mounted the long barrel F4 90 mm smooth bore cannon developed by the French - government defence firm GIAT and designated the vehicle the ERC 90 F4 " Sagaie " . Unlike the " Lynx " version which could only fire medium velocity HEAT rounds in the anti - tank role , which lacked the penetration to defeat the more modern MBTs , the " Sagaie " could fire Armour Piercing Fin Stabilised Discard Sabot rounds ( APFSDS ) at a much higher velocity than the Lynx ' s F1 90mm smooth bore cannon and which at 2000 metres GIAT and Panhard both claimed would enable the " Sagaie " to defeat the heavy armour threat of the 1980s . For a while , GIAT engineers , were vexed with finding a suitable muzzle brake for the " Sagaie " which would not interferer with the firing of APFSDS rounds , but finally found a suitable solution with the fitting of a muzzle brake design from the older AMX - 13 light tank . The Ivory Coast was the first export customer , ordering five " Sagaies " to replace its outdated AMX - 13 light tanks . At this time period , the French Army was organising the Fast Deployment Force ( FDF ) for overseas military missions . Mainly in Africa or the Middle East . The main core of the FDF would be French Army ' s 9th Marine Infantry Division and the French Army ' s 11th Parachute Division . To enable the new FDF to be " more muscular " a new unit was activated , the 31st Heavy Half Brigade ( 31 DBL ) of two regiments . One regiment was to be armed with armoured vehicles mounting the HOT wire - guided missile and the other a cannon - armed light armoured vehicle that could provide both reconnaissance and a limited tank - killing role . The French Army had at first planned on equipping the later regiment with the AMX - 10RC , but were told that this vehicle was not suitable for transport by the French Air Force Transall C - 160 or its allies ' Hercules C - 130 aircraft due to size and weight issues . In addition , most of the bridges in Africa had only a 6 to 8 ton load capacity . So instead of the larger AMX - 10RC , which was already in service with the French Army , the French Army Staff took the surprise step in December 1980 of ordering the Panhard ERC 90 F4 " Sagaie " for the future FDF . And to date the " Sagaie " has proved very useful for the French Army in its African bases and even in urban conditions during the Siege of Sarajevo . The last known combat use of the " Sagaie " was with French Forces stationed in the Ivory Coast on a peace keeping mission between two rival factions . In 1982 the ERC 90 F1 " Lynxs " of Argentina Marines saw combat in the Falkland Islands in the defence of Port Stanley . ERC - 90 " Sagaie 2 " ( twin - engine ) . The major weakness of the Sagaie is the low power - to - weight ratio . The Sagaie 2 is an ERC extended with two 4 - cylinder Peugeot diesel 98 hp engines ; the same engine used on the LAV ( Light Armoured Vehicle ) . Six were ordered by Gabon . A prototype was built as a private venture equipped with two PRV V6 engines , but none was ordered .