French Navy commandos have already received ten of their 15 new commando craft on order with Zodiac Milpro. How are these new craft comparing to their predecessors? A source speaks to armadainternational.com.
In 2014, the French General Armaments Directorate, which overseas the country’s military procurement, ordered 15 new ECUME (Embarcation Commando Usage Multiple Embarcable/Multiple Usage Commando Boarding Craft). Ten of these craft have been delivered to date, and have already been deployed to Djibouti, east Africa, among other places. The: “ECUME can be lifted and airdropped from a Lockheed C-130J Hercules turboprop freighter,” an anonymous source told armadainternational.com: “which makes it quick to deploy at short notice.”
The ECUME was also designed to be carried onboard French Navy ships, and is popular amongst navy commandos for its speeds of up to 45 knots (83 kilometres-per-hour) and its sea keeping capabilities. The craft is currently being deployed alongside its predecessor, the ETRACO (Embarcation de Transport Rapide pour Commandos/Commando Fast Transportation Craft): “but the ETRACO is being phased out and will no longer be in service by 2018,” the source continued. Film of the ECUME in action can be found here:
