The Eland is an air-portable light armoured car based on the Panhard AML. Designed and built for long-range reconnaissance, it mounts either a 60mm (2.4 in) breech-loading mortar or a Denel 90mm (3.5 in) gun on a very compact chassis. Although lightly armoured, the vehicle's permanent 4X4 drive makes it faster over flat terrain than many tanks.
Comparison of the rear hulls and cooling systems of an Eland Mk6 and a Panhard AML
Elands in forward staging areas prior to Operation Savannah
FAPLA T-34-85, one of several encountered by Elands during Operation Protea
FAPLA T-55. Able to turn more sharply than the enemy tanks, Elands and Ratels used flanking manoeuvres to reach a T-54/55's rear
The Panhard AML is an armoured car with reconnaissance capability. Designed by Panhard on a lightly armoured 4×4 chassis, it weighs an estimated 5.5 tonnes, and is thus suitable for airborne deployment. 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.
Panhard AML at the Musée des Blindés, Saumur.
Panhard AML-60, one of several which entered service with the French Mobile Gendarmerie.
Plinthed Israeli AML-90 at Yad La-Shiryon.
Flat margin (turret race) between an Egyptian T-54/55's turret and angled glacis, one of the few areas on the tank vulnerable to 90 mm HEAT munitions.
