Editing Panhard AML (section)

==Service history==
===Europe===
====France====
[[File:SATORY 9 JANVIER 2014 094.jpg|thumb|Panhard AML-60, one of several which entered service with the French [[Mobile Gendarmerie]].]]

French military doctrine recognised two separate fields of armoured vehicle deployment, the first consisting of primary tasks such as manoeuvre and combat, while the second included other tasks such as rearguard defence, liaison, and deception. The latter was to be the responsibility of a mobile reserve which provided interior security during wartime – designated ''Défense Opérationnelle du Territoire'' (DOT) armoured cavalry regiments.<ref name="Knox2">{{cite journal |last=Marzloff |first=Jean |title=Light Armored Units: The Quiet Revolution |journal=[[Armor magazine]] |pages=7–8 |publisher=US Army Armor Center |location=Fort Knox, Kentucky |date=July–August 1973}}</ref> Initially equipped with AMLs and jeeps modified for scouting purposes, these units worked closely with the [[National Police (France)|French police]] and [[National Gendarmerie]]. Their goal was to intercept hostile [[special forces]] or [[Airborne forces|airborne units]] which specialised in deep penetration behind the front line.<ref name="Haynes">{{Cite book|title=Panhard Armoured Car: AML 60, AML 90, Eland|first=Simon  |last=Dunstan|publisher=[[Haynes Manuals]]|year=2019|isbn=978-1-78521-194-2|pages=37, 47–49}}</ref> Secondary tasks included counter-insurgency, passive observation, and guarding static installations.<ref name="Knox2" />

Each DOT troop came to include three AML platoons.<ref name="Knox2" /> As they were expected to remain faithful to the traditional mission of reconnaissance where observation had priority over combat, a number of the AML-60s seem to have been stripped of their main armament, necessitating crew dependence on the vehicle's secondary automatic weapons. Nevertheless, to counter the mechanised threat posed by Soviet and other Warsaw Pact airborne forces, which often deployed with their own armour such as the [[ASU-57]], [[BMD-1]], and [[ASU-85]], AML-90s were favoured as well.<ref name="Haynes"/> DOT regiments came to hold a generic pool of sixteen AML-90s and thirty-four other AMLs of varying configuration.<ref name="Knox2" />

As the AML was readily air transportable, it came to form the materiel strongpoint of the [[French Foreign Legion]]'s rapid deployment force.<ref name="Jordan" /> The Legion AMLs saw combat overseas, either as part of single deployments by the [[1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment]] or to provide fire support for other Legion regiments. Crews perfected unique airfield assaults in which AML-90s were unloaded directly from [[Transall C-160]]s onto the objective, with infantry joining them by parachute.<ref name="Jordan" /> They could also deploy from [[Breguet 941]] and [[Nord Noratlas]] aircraft.<ref name="Swiss" /> These vehicles first saw combat against [[BTR-152]]s manned by [[FROLINAT]] rebels in [[Chad]] during [[Opération Tacaud]], successfully engaging an insurgent mechanised column approaching [[Salal, Chad|Salal]] around April 1978.<ref name="Libya">{{cite book |author1=Tom Cooper |author2=Albert Grandolini |name-list-style=amp |title=Libyan Air Wars: Part 1: 1973–1985|edition=2015|pages=39–37 |publisher=Helion & Co. Ltd|isbn=978-1-909982-39-0|date=2015-01-19 }}</ref> On 18 May another sixteen AMLs, supported by a company of French infantry, routed FROLINAT elements advancing on [[Ati, Chad|Ati]].<ref name="Libya" /> In the subsequent months, additional AML-90s rushed in by the [[Régiment d'infanterie-chars de marine]] (RICM) repelled a major offensive near [[Abéché]] by the Chadian [[Democratic Revolutionary Council]], which was backed by fifty [[Libya]]n [[T-55]] tanks and [[EE-9 Cascavel]] armoured cars.<ref name="Libya" />

Despite the intensity of these clashes, only three<ref name="Afrique">{{cite web|title=Répertoire typologique des opérations, Tome 2: Afrique|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=http://www.cdef.terre.defense.gouv.fr/content/download/4401/61001/file/repertoire_typo_2.pdf|location=Paris|publisher=Centre de Doctrine d'Enseignment du Commandement|date=2016|access-date=20 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407075633/http://www.cdef.terre.defense.gouv.fr/content/download/4401/61001/file/repertoire_typo_2.pdf|archive-date=7 April 2016}}</ref> French AMLs were lost in Chad between 1978 and 1979, most likely to [[RPG-7]]s.<ref name="Libya" /> The Foreign Legion's AML squadrons continued to see action during [[Operation Manta]] and the extended [[Opération Épervier]], being organised into anti-tank support groups for three battalion-sized task forces.<ref name="Davis">{{cite journal|title=Wheels for the Future: Should the U.S. Army Adopt an Armored Wheeled System?|last=Davis|first=Glenn|url=http://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a234372.pdf|location=Fort Leavenworth, Kansas|publisher=United States Army Intelligence Center|year=1990|access-date=4 January 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160930170245/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a234372.pdf|archive-date=30 September 2016}}</ref> Their speed and mobility proved instrumental in destroying much heavier Libyan main battle tanks.<ref name="Davis" /> However, the French crews could only make up for their inferiority in firepower by outflanking the tanks first or attacking from the rear, and by the mid 1980s the threat posed by large Libyan armoured formations was considered so severe a squadron of [[AMX-10RC]]s had to be deployed as well.<ref name="Davis" />

A single RICM AML platoon was deployed to assist in the 1979 overthrow of the [[Central African Empire]] during [[Operation Caban]], likely shifted from Marine contingents stationed in Chad or [[Gabon]].<ref name="Afrique" /> The armoured cars were landed at the airport in concert with French paratroopers during a textbook airborne assault; however, the defending Central African troops surrendered without offering resistance.<ref name="Afrique" /> AMLs did not see action again until [[Operation Épaulard I]], when twenty AML-60s and AML-90s were deployed for [[Infantry support gun|infantry support]] purposes. As the French infantrymen lacked heavy weapons of their own, they remained dependent on the AMLs for suppressing hard targets; this persuaded the French Army of the need for [[infantry fighting vehicles]] in overseas operations.<ref name="Reppy">{{cite web|title=Répertoire typologique des opérations, Tome 1: Europe, Moyen-Orient, Asie, Amerique Centrale, Caraibes|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=http://www.cdef.terre.defense.gouv.fr/content/download/4402/61008/file/repertoire_typo_1.pdf|location=Paris|publisher=Centre de Doctrine d'Enseignment du Commandement |date=2016|access-date=20 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160930192204/http://www.cdef.terre.defense.gouv.fr/content/download/4402/61008/file/repertoire_typo_1.pdf|archive-date=30 September 2016}}</ref> The AML-90s were later used by the RICM against the [[Rwandan Patriotic Front]] during the [[Rwandan Civil War]].<ref name="Raids">{{cite magazine|title=L'automitrailleuse légère Panhard AML-90|url=http://francegenocidetutsi.org/AML90Raids101octobre1994.pdf|language=fr|magazine=Raids|pages=33–36|issue=101|date=October 1994}}</ref>

The [[Mobile Gendarmerie]] operated over a hundred AML-60s and AML-90s, which were allocated to nineteen separate squadrons.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.senat.fr/rap/1986-1987/i1986_1987_0070_05.pdf |title=Senat Avis: Premiere Session Ordinaire de 1986–1987 (Tome V) |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150629163214/http://www.senat.fr/rap/1986-1987/i1986_1987_0070_05.pdf |archive-date=29 June 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The AML was superseded in service with the Mobile Gendarmerie by the [[VBC-90]] at the end of the 1980s.<ref name="Haynes"/>

The last AMLs were withdrawn from active service in the French Army in 1991, being superseded by the [[Panhard ERC]] and the [[AMX-10RC]].<ref name="Haynes"/> France retained about three hundred of these AMLs in storage as part of its strategic reserve as late as 1995.<ref name="Margeride">{{cite web|url=http://www.institut-strategie.fr/strat_062_margeridef_tdm.html|title=Quelques Idees, Plus Ou Moins Non-Conformistes, Sur Les Far/FDR|access-date=15 November 2014|archive-date=3 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140703001931/http://www.institut-strategie.fr/strat_062_margeridef_tdm.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> A small number were also used to simulate [[Opposing force|OPFOR]] armoured vehicles at the [[Centre d'entraînement aux actions en zone urbaine]] (CENZUB) until 2012, when they were finally decommissioned.<ref name="Haynes"/>

====Portugal====
Franco-Portuguese military relations experienced a significant improvement during the 1960s, with the establishment of a French strategic missile tracking site on [[Flores Island (Azores)|Flores Island]] in the [[Azores]].<ref name=Ultramar1>{{cite book|last1=Humbaraci|first1=Arslan|last2=Muchnik|first2=Nicole|title=Portugal's African Wars: Angola, Guinea Bissao, Mozambique|date=1974|pages=193–196|publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers]]|location=London|isbn=978-0-333-13610-2}}</ref> The Portuguese government was compensated with French arms, which it acquired under especially generous terms.<ref name=Ultramar1 /> Following the outbreak of the [[Portuguese Colonial War]], Lisbon began ordering AML-60s for deployment to its three African territories: [[Angola]], [[Mozambique]], and [[Guinea-Bissau]].<ref name="Abbott">{{cite book |last=Peter Abbot|title=Modern African Wars (2): Angola and Mozambique 1961–74|edition=1988|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-0-85045-843-5|date=1988-07-28}}</ref> The armoured cars were purchased on long-term credit, with the French government granting payment facilities ranging from ten to twenty years, at six per cent annual interest.<ref name=Ultramar1 /> About 50 AML-60s were delivered to the [[Portuguese Army]] between 1965 and 1968 to complement the ageing EBR already in service.<ref name=trade /> They were circulated largely among reconnaissance platoons in Africa, which utilised them for convoy escort purposes.<ref name="Abbott" /> Severe maintenance problems were soon encountered in the corrosive tropical environment, compounded by excessive dust, which caused transmission and engine damage.<ref name="Auto-Metralhadoras" /> Most AMLs stalled during their initial convoy support missions and had to be towed behind other vehicles.<ref name="AAFJ">''[https://books.google.com/books?id=6eYxAQAAIAAJ African Armed Forces Journal]'': Article "Eland Mk 7 Diesel: African Design". Military Publications (Pty) Ltd, Volume 1994, Collected Issues September to December 1994 p. 28.</ref> These issues were later rectified by the installation of custom [[Volkswagen]] air intakes.<ref name="Auto-Metralhadoras" /> Around the early 1970s, all Portuguese AML-60s in Angola were retrofitted with liquid-cooled, four-cylinder General Motors engines and pressure plate clutches, giving them a resemblance to the Eland Mk7.<ref name="Auto-Metralhadoras" /> The new engines were adopted because they were cheaper to replace and Portugal found it easier to source their associated parts.<ref name="Auto-Metralhadoras" />

In 1974, a squadron of AML-60s seconded to the Portuguese Army's School of Cavalry at [[Santarém, Portugal|Santarém]] took part in the [[Carnation Revolution]], which heralded the collapse of the country's ruling ''[[Estado Novo (Portugal)|Estado Novo]]'' regime and its colonial empire.<ref name=Carnation>{{cite book|author=Sunday Times of London Insight Team|title=Insight on Portugal: The Year of the Captains|date=1975|page=81|publisher=[[André Deutsch]]|location=London|isbn=978-0-233-96733-2}}</ref> The following year, when Portugal withdrew from Angola under the terms of the [[Alvor Agreement]], 5 AML-60s were abandoned in that country and subsequently taken into service by Angolan factions.<ref name=trade /> About 36 of the remaining AMLs were redistributed to the ''Regimento de Cavalaria N.º 3'' (3rd Cavalry Regiment) and ''Regimento de Cavalaria N.º 6'' (6th Cavalry Regiment), while the others were held in reserve.<ref name="Auto-Metralhadoras" />

The Portuguese government entered into negotiations with a local subsidiary of [[Opel]] in 1982 to upgrade its entire AML fleet with liquid-cooled engines and pressure plate clutches, exempting those which had already received similar modifications during their service in Angola.<ref name="Auto-Metralhadoras" /> Opel upgraded one AML for evaluation purposes before the programme was abandoned.<ref name="Auto-Metralhadoras" /> Another, more successful, project entailed the addition of Portuguese PRC-239 wireless radio sets and communications equipment.<ref name="Auto-Metralhadoras" /> The AML-60s were retired from 1989 onwards and replaced by the [[Véhicule Blindé Léger]].<ref name="Auto-Metralhadoras" />

===Middle East===
[[File:AML-90 at Latrun11.JPG|thumb|Plinthed Israeli AML-90 at [[Yad La-Shiryon]].]]
[[File:T-55 at Latrun1.JPG|thumb|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&nbsp;mm HEAT munitions.<ref name="Mannall" /><ref name="Scholtz">{{cite book|last=Scholtz|first=Leopold|title=The SADF in the Border War 1966–1989|year=2013|publisher=Tafelberg|location=Cape Town|isbn=978-0-624-05410-8}}</ref>]]

====Israel====
An order of 29 AML-90s placed by the [[Israel Defense Forces]] (IDF) in 1960 marked the first sale of AMLs to a foreign power, ushered in a new era of French arms sales to Jerusalem, and helped cement Panhard's success on the export market.<ref name="trade" /> The IDF armoured cars had been received by the end of 1963 and were first displayed publicly on the eve of [[Yom Ha'atzmaut]], 1966.<ref>''[https://books.google.com/books?id=a7MMAQAAMAAJ&q=French+armored+reconnaissance+car+Israel The Israel Digest of Press and Events in Israel and the Middle East]''. The Israel Digest, 1966, Collected Issues Volumes 9–10.</ref> Israeli units were primarily impressed by their high mobility and ergonomic nature, which was deemed ideal for airborne operations.<ref name="Latrun">{{Citation |title=AML 90 |year=2015 |type=Exhibit |publisher=[[Armored Corps (Israel)]] |location= [[Yad La-Shiryon]], [[Latrun]].}}</ref> Nevertheless, the AML-90's envisaged deployment by new [[Aérospatiale SA 321 Super Frelon]]s also purchased from France did not materialise, as the helicopters could not handle its 5,500&nbsp;kg combat weight.<ref name="Update" />

At least 9 AML-90s were in service with the 41st Reconnaissance Company of the [[Harel Brigade]] during the [[Six-Day War]] under a Major Amnon Eshkol, participating in the capture of [[Ramallah]] in June 1967.<ref name=Baruchy>Nachum Baruchy: ''The Hare'l (10th) Armoured Brigade In The Six Day War''. Ariel Publishing, Jerusalem. 2010 (In Hebrew). Baruchy States that the 10th Brigade had one company (9 vehicles) of Panhard AML's.</ref><ref name="Arab1">{{cite book |author1=Simon Dunstan |author2=Peter Dennis |name-list-style=amp |title=The Six Day War 1967: Jordan and Syria|year=2009 |url=https://archive.org/details/sixdaywarsinaica00duns |url-access=limited |edition=2009|page=[https://archive.org/details/sixdaywarsinaica00duns/page/n30 29] |publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-1-84603-364-3}}</ref> The AMLs were initially posted at [[Mevaseret Zion]] following the fall of East [[Jerusalem]]. They were among the first IDF armour to cross into the [[West Bank]] during the conflict, probing for Jordanian resistance. Major roads had been blocked by tank barriers although these could be easily bypassed in nimbler armoured cars.<ref name="IDF">{{cite book |last=Hammel, Eric|title=Six Days in June: How Israel Won the 1967 Arab-Israeli War|edition=1992|pages=315–320 |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons|isbn=978-0-935553-54-3|date=March 2001}}</ref> The much more cumbersome [[Super Sherman]] and [[Centurion tank|Centurion]] tanks tasked with leading the IDF's spearhead towards [[Gibeah|Tell el-Ful]] failed to reach their objective; most were forced to turn back in the face of difficult terrain.<ref name="IDF" /> Joined by the surviving seven Shermans and eight [[M3 Half-track|M3 half-tracks]], Major Eshkol's AML-90s later helped defeat a Jordanian counterattack with [[M48 Patton]]s.<ref name="IDF" />

In the [[War of Attrition]], Israeli AMLs faced Jordanian M48s again on the [[Damia Bridge]] during the [[Battle of Karameh]].<ref name="Update" /> Originally tasked with screening the IDF Centurions as they crossed the bridge, the lightly armoured AML-90 was at a unique disadvantage when confronted by entrenched Pattons. Moreover, the [[Jordan River]] was in flood and vehicle crews were unable to exploit their manoeuvrability in the muddy farmland. Several AMLs were knocked out by tank fire or towed anti-tank guns.<ref name="Update" /> They were withdrawn from service not long afterwards.<ref name="Update" />

The [[Arab–Israeli conflict]] marked some of the highest armour-to-armour kill ratios achieved with the AML platform to date, including the destruction of at least 13 Egyptian and Jordanian tanks.<ref name="T-54">''[https://books.google.com/books?id=bXtTAAAAYAAJ&q=Egyptian+T-54s Armed Forces]''. Contributions by the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies. Allan Limited and the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies., 1986.</ref> Especially notable were several [[T-54]] kills credited to an AML-90 platoon in the [[Sinai Peninsula]]: as late as the 1980s, military scholars continued to maintain that the 90&nbsp;mm DEFA cannon lacked the muzzle velocity to penetrate the thick steel hull of a T-54/55.<ref name="Mannall" /> More well-documented cases have since verified this was possible, though only with multiple shots or a direct hit on the turret rim near the driver's hatch.<ref name="Mannall" /><ref name="Mitchell">{{cite book |first=Thomas G. |last=Mitchell |title=Israel/Palestine and the Politics of a Two-State Solution |year=2013 |page=97 |publisher=McFarland & Company Inc. |location=Jefferson |isbn=978-0-7864-7597-1}}</ref> Israeli AML crews also sustained losses of their own during this engagement,<ref name="T-54" /> and some AML-90s may have been captured intact by the Egyptian defenders.<ref name="Suez">{{Cite web |url=http://www.armyrecognition.com/egypt_egyptian_army_wheeled_armoured_vehicle_fr/aml-90_egypt_egyptian_army_pictures_photos_images_wheeled_armoured_vehicle_vehicule_blinde_roues_fr.html |title=AML-90 Véhicule blindé léger (Egypte) |date=July 27, 2015 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150727081416/http://www.armyrecognition.com/egypt_egyptian_army_wheeled_armoured_vehicle_fr/aml-90_egypt_egyptian_army_pictures_photos_images_wheeled_armoured_vehicle_vehicule_blinde_roues_fr.html |archive-date=27 July 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Saudi Arabia====
In 1964, the [[Saudi Arabian Army|Royal Saudi Army]] issued a requirement for an armoured car proven in desert warfare and equipped with a large semi-automatic cannon.<ref name="Saladin">''[https://books.google.com/books?id=_bUtAQAAIAAJ&q=Panhard Records of Saudi Arabia, 1961–1965: 1965]''. Burdett, Anita (editor). British Foreign Office, 1997, Volume 6 p. 57. {{ISBN|978-1-85207-770-9}}.</ref> Bids were accepted from three companies—Alvis, [[Cadillac Gage]], and Panhard—which offered the Saladin, [[Cadillac Gage Commando|V-100 Commando]], and AML, respectively, but the debate over which of the three to adopt was hamstrung by political considerations early on.<ref name="Saladin" /> Saudi Arabia remained inhibited from seeking American assistance in devising suitable defence programmes by the criticism and hostility of other Arab states. Under these circumstances, only arms transactions with French or British firms could be entertained.<ref name=Safran1985>{{cite book|author=Nadav Safran|title=Saudi Arabia: The Ceaseless Quest for Security|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zSkIi_1T1FsC&pg=PR17|access-date=4 August 2015|year=1985|publisher=Cornell University Press|isbn=978-0-8014-9484-0|page=204}}</ref> Despite longstanding diplomatic contacts, the French presence in [[Riyadh]] was rather limited compared to that of the [[United Kingdom]], and the latter was in a better position to provide long-term logistical support for armoured cars to the Saudi military.<ref name="Saladin" /> Alvis was initially awarded a contract for 83 Saladins with a ten-year option on spare parts.<ref name="Saladin" /> Final negotiations for the delivery of the Saladins were underway<ref name="Saladin" /> when [[Sultan bin Abdulaziz]] abruptly cancelled the purchase in favour of Panhard.<ref name="MEED">''Middle East Economic Digest (1968)''. Collard, Elizabeth, Volume 12 pp. 131—173.</ref>
[[File:Niger Panhard AML.JPG|thumb|Saudi AML-90s and AML-60s donated to the [[Niger Armed Forces]] during [[Operation Desert Shield]].<ref name="Khaled">{{cite book |first=Khaled |last=Bin Sultan |title=Desert warrior: a personal view of the Gulf War by the Joint Forces commander |year=1995 |page=[https://archive.org/details/desertwarriorper00khal/page/257 257] |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |location=New York City |isbn=978-0-06-017298-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/desertwarriorper00khal/page/257 }}</ref>]]
The $95 million Panhard deal proved instrumental in breaking existing preconceptions that the Arabian arms market was well protected by the UK. Gaullist circles heralded it as a major business and political success.<ref name="Saudi">{{cite news|title=Arabs to buy armored cars|last=Granato|first=Leonard|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=ddB7do2jUx8C&dat=19680227&printsec=frontpage&hl=en|work=Spokane Daily Chronicle|location=Spokane, Washington|date=27 February 1968|access-date=28 June 2015}}</ref> In an interview in [[Beirut]], Sultan bin Abdulaziz merely asserted that AMLs were selected as part of [[Faisal of Saudi Arabia|King Faisal]]'s policy to strengthen the army with a greater infusion of modern arms.<ref name="MER">''Middle East Record (1968)''. Israel Universities Press, 1973, Volume 4 p. 684.</ref> Saudi Army officials had preferred the heavier Saladin and appreciated its worthiness in desert conditions, but conceded the AML-90 was much cheaper.<ref name="MEED" /> Panhard undertook the order amid much protest by pro-Israel lobbyists in France, who urged restraint in shipping arms to Arab bloc states likely to use them against Tel-Aviv.<ref name="Saudi" /> The sale was also challenged as a violation of [[Charles de Gaulle]]'s Middle Eastern embargo, although the French government insisted it did not classify armoured scout cars as the same "heavy war materiel" covered by sanctions.<ref name="Saudi" />

Saudi AML-90s of the 20th Armoured Brigade were blooded near [[Daraa]] during the [[Yom Kippur War]], having been airlifted to assist its Syrian defenders in [[Lockheed C-130 Hercules]] aircraft loaned from [[Iran]].<ref name="O'Ballance">{{cite book |last=Edgar O'Ballance|title=No victor, no vanquished: The Yom Kippur War|edition=1979|pages= 28–370 |publisher=Barrie & Jenkins Publishing|isbn=978-0-214-20670-2|year=1979}}</ref> The airlift was carried out on October 14, 1973; six Iranian C-130s were needed to convey the vehicles and about 2,000 motorised infantrymen from Saudi Arabia to Syria.<ref name="O'Ballance" /> AML crews were generally assigned to static guard duty, patrolling the Damascus-Daraa road and keeping lines of communications clear between the multinational Arab forces.<ref name="O'Ballance" /> At least one AML-90 was captured by the [[Golani Brigade]], likely while attempting to reconnoiter an IDF position after dark.<ref name="Golan">{{cite book |last1=Dunstan |first1=Simon|title=The Yom Kippur War 1973: Golan Heights Pt.1|url=https://archive.org/details/yomkippurwarsina00duns |url-access=limited |year=2003 |publisher=Osprey Publishing Ltd.|location=Oxford, United Kingdom |isbn=978-1-84176-220-3 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/yomkippurwarsina00duns/page/n96 78]–79}}</ref> The captured vehicle was later displayed by Israeli officials to the international press as proof of direct Saudi military involvement in the Syrian war effort.<ref name="O'Ballance" />

On October 16, the 7th Brigade, 71st Tank Battalion of the IDF's [[36th Division (Israel)|36th Armoured Division]] reported clashing with the Saudi armoured cars as they performed reconnaissance for Iraqi forces near Tel Antar.<ref name=Syrianfront>{{cite book|last=Asher|first=Dani|title=Inside Israel's Northern Command: The Yom Kippur War on the Syrian Border|date=2014|pages=415–418|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|location=Lexington|isbn=978-0-8131-6737-4}}</ref> The Saudis quickly disengaged.<ref name=Syrianfront /> At some point between this skirmish and the evening of October 17, all the Saudi AMLs—almost a composite light armoured battalion—launched an unsuccessful attack on IDF positions at the village of Tel Merai.<ref name=Syrianfront /> Thereafter the remaining armoured cars and their crews were integrated with the Jordanian 40th Armoured Brigade.<ref name=Syrianfront /> On October 19, they participated in a joint offensive with that unit but were halted by accurate tank fire from the IDF's 17th Reserve Armour Brigade and forced to retreat.<ref name="Golan" />

The Israelis claimed to have destroyed most of the Saudi AMLs at Tel Merai.<ref name=Syrianfront /> Saudi accounts acknowledge the loss of only 4 AMLs; furthermore, the Saudis claimed to have knocked out 5 Israeli tanks and damaged 5 more.<ref name="O'Ballance" />

Saudi Arabia ordered between 200 and 220<ref name="Saudi" /> AMLs from France in 1968, with deliveries completed by 1970.<ref name="trade" /> Some sources have claimed a second order was placed in 1978 for another 250.<ref name="Tan">{{cite book |first=Riad |last=Attar (ed. Tan, Andrew)|title=The Global Arms Trade: A Handbook |year=2010 |page=115 |publisher=Routledge Books |location=London |isbn=978-1-85743-497-2}}</ref> The Saudi Army has since retired much of its Panhard fleet and exported surplus stocks to various nations.<ref name="Update2">''[https://books.google.com/books?id=HJk0AQAAIAAJ&q=Panhard Africa Analysis]''. Africa Analysis Collected Edition, 1996, 1995–96 Volume Collected Issues 238–262.</ref> During the [[Gulf War]], an estimated 200 AML-90s were phased from service.<ref name="Khaled" /> Upon learning that the [[Senegal]]ese units participating in Operation Desert Shield were also familiar with the Panhard type, General [[Khalid bin Sultan]] ordered a number retained for their use. The armoured cars were hurriedly serviced, then donated to Senegal.{{refn|Per [[Khalid bin Sultan]]: ''I recalled we were phasing out of our armed forces over 200 French-built AML-90 Panhard armored fighting vehicles of a type with which the Senegalese were familiar.

''"How many can you make operational?" I asked.''

''"As many as you want."''

''"Fine. Hold on to them." In due course, we issued these vehicles to the Senegalese, and also to the contingents from Niger and Morocco, and at the end of the war, on Prince Sultan's instructions, we gave the armored cars to them in gratitude for their help.''<ref name="Khaled" />|name=KBS|group=note}} Large quantities were also accepted by [[Morocco]] and [[Niger]].<ref name="Update2" />

====Lebanon====
[[File:Panhard Beirut1.jpg|thumb|AML-90 of the [[Lebanese Army]] in [[Beirut]], 1982.]]

At least 74 AML-90s were delivered to the [[Lebanese Armed Forces]] (LAF) between 1970 and 1975, and saw considerable action in the [[Lebanese Civil War]].<ref name="trade" /> As their crews often left them unguarded outside army compounds, several may have been stolen by LAF deserters on their way to join regional militias.<ref name="Hamizrachi">{{cite book |first=Beate |last= Hamizrachi|title=The Emergence of South Lebanon Security Belt |year=1984 |pages=55–89 |publisher=Praeger |location=New York |isbn=978-0-275-92854-4}}</ref> Others vanished during the disintegration of individual battalions, and by 1981 Lebanon's fleet had dwindled to 52.<ref name="Africa">''African Defence Journal'': Article "Panhard Armoured Cars and Reconnaissance Vehicles in Africa". The Journal Publishers, 1981 volume, Collected Issues 5–16 p. 58.</ref> The surviving AML squadrons remained plagued by chronic shortages of personnel; some crews even fought in their turrets without a trained commander and depended on inexperienced [[Artillery observer|spotters]] outside the vehicles to guide their fire. This resulted in phenomenal inaccuracy.<ref name="Root">{{cite book |last1=Hammel |first1=Eric M. |title=The Root: The Marines in Beirut, August 1982-February 1984 |year=1985 |publisher=Harcourt Brace Jovanovich |location=New York |isbn=978-0-15-179006-7 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/rootmarinesin00hamm/page/162 162–179] |url=https://archive.org/details/rootmarinesin00hamm/page/162 }}</ref>

Following the [[Battle of the Hotels]], [[Lebanese Front]] troops in the Port District of Beirut brought their Panhards into action for the first time in the civil war, engaging [[Charioteer tank]]s crewed by [[Amal Movement|Amal]] and [[Lebanese Arab Army]] (LAA) militants. Having lost nearly all their heavy armour and tanks to the militias, the predominantly Christian remnants of the Lebanese Army appropriated three AML-90s and nine obsolete [[T17 (armored car)|T17 Staghounds]] to stave off repeated assaults by LAA forces from the hotel district.<ref name=Lebanon>{{cite report|title=Military Operations in selected Lebanese built-up areas, 1975–1978 |author=United States Army Human Engineering Laboratory |work=Technical Memorandum 11–79 |date=June 1979 |url=http://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/b040213.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201161520/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/b040213.pdf |archive-date=February 1, 2014 }}</ref> Due to the armoured cars' heightened vulnerability to [[RPG-7]]s, their crews began using debris as makeshift barricades. Muslim fighters failed in attempting to destroy the AMLs with RPGs, as well as [[B-10 recoilless rifle|B-10]] and [[M40 recoilless rifle|M40]] recoilless rifles, since the projectiles lacked a clear trajectory in the rubble.<ref name=Lebanon /> The AML-90s' immense firepower at close quarters soon resulted in great structural damage to portside Beirut; a number of fortified buildings were wrecked by 90&nbsp;mm HE shells, and those struck by multiple HEAT volleys demolished on their foundations. With truck-mounted [[ZU-23-2]]s covering their advance, the AMLs advanced on Allenby Street, flattening all resistance, and took the waterfront.<ref name=Lebanon /> Although both the LAA and the leftist [[Lebanese National Movement]] hastily brought up Charioteers and [[M41 Walker Bulldog]] tanks, so much wreckage was blocking the streets they could not manoeuvre. It was impossible to shoot accurately through the debris, and tanks could only manage speculative fire to discourage the AMLs.<ref name=Lebanon />

In 1983, LAF tanks with AML-90s in support were sent to eliminate Amal militants then threatening elements of [[Multinational Force in Lebanon]] (MNF) at the [[Lebanese University]]. Following the [[Siege of Beirut]], the LAF again mobilised its AMLs to occupy positions vacated by withdrawing Israeli troops.<ref name="Root" /> An undisclosed number were upgraded to AML-90 Lynx standard, including laser rangefinders, and continued to see service as late as 2014 against [[Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon|Syrian militants]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/19255 |title=Lebanese army raids Bab al-Tabbaneh in second day of "security plan" |date=August 6, 2015 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150806173659/http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/19255 |archive-date=6 August 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Tripoli">{{Cite web |url=http://www.yourmiddleeast.com/news/lebanon-army-expands-operation-in-restive-tripoli_22651 |title=Lebanon army expands operation in restive Tripoli |date=October 20, 2015 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151020055153/http://www.yourmiddleeast.com/news/lebanon-army-expands-operation-in-restive-tripoli_22651 |archive-date=20 October 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

=====Militia use=====
Panhard AMLs were favoured by the Lebanese militias due to their flexibility, especially in [[urban combat]] situations which saw them deployed against heavier [[Syria]]n armour.<ref name="Badran">{{cite book |last=Badran |first=Tony (Rubin, Barry ed.) |title=Lebanon: Liberation, Conflict, and Crisis |location=London |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-230-62306-4 |pages=50–52}}</ref> A detailed analysis undertaken by the [[United States Army Research Laboratory]] in 1979 found the AML "operated effectively in Beirut" and noted that "the ease with which the Panhard is driven and repaired, and the absence of tracks, provide the mobility desirable in an urban environment."<ref name=Lebanon /> Modifications to militia AMLs included replacement of the original Michelin tyres with an air-pocketed type more resistant to mortar [[Fragmentation (weaponry)|shrapnel]], as well as increased armour plate {{Ndash}} fabricated after the appearance of Syrian tanks made it difficult ordering volunteers to man the lightly protected vehicles.<ref name=Lebanon />

Christian [[Kataeb Party|Phalangist]] militiamen deployed twelve AML-90s as [[assault gun]]s during the [[Siege of Tel al-Zaatar]], using their elevated 90&nbsp;mm cannon to knock out second or third storey fortifications shielding Palestinian guerrillas.<ref name=Lebanon /> AML-90s of the [[Druze in Lebanon|Druze]] [[Progressive Socialist Party]]'s (PSP) [[People's Liberation Army (Lebanon)|People's Liberation Army]] (PLA) militia also swung into action against five Staghounds of the Lebanese [[Internal Security Forces]] during a raid on Fayadiyeh barracks in mid-1976. The armoured cars were incompetently handled by the leftist forces, and later abandoned near [[Kahale]] with an [[AMX-13]] due to mechanical problems.<ref name=Lebanon />

=====UNIFIL=====
[[File:Irish UNIFIL Panhard AML-90 1.jpg|thumb|Irish UNIFIL AML-90. AMLs have been deployed in support of eight UN-affiliated peacekeeping missions since [[UNFICYP]] in 1964.<ref name="Wheels">{{cite journal |last=Malmassari |first=Paul |title=UN Armored Cars/Reconnaissance Vehicles (since the beginning) |journal=Armored Car: The Wheeled Fighting Vehicle Journal |pages=8–9 |publisher=David Haugh Publisher |location=Salem, Oregon |date=August 1996}}</ref>]]
In April 1978, AMLs of the [[Irish Army]] were deployed with the [[United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon]] (UNIFIL), where they saw considerable action against the [[South Lebanon Army]] (SLA) militia.<ref name="Lavery">{{cite news |title=Veteran armoured car fleet retired |last=Lavery |first=Don |url=http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/veteran-armoured-car-fleet-retired-29235903.html |work=The Irish Independent |location=Dublin |date=1 May 2013 |access-date=4 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170129080046/http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/veteran-armoured-car-fleet-retired-29235903.html |archive-date=29 January 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Ireland had originally purchased 16 AML-60s in 1964 for its large [[United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus]] (UNFICYP) contingent.<ref name=Ishizuka>{{cite book|last=Ishizuka|first=Katsumi|title=Ireland and International Peacekeeping Operations 1960–2000: A Study of Irish Motivation|date=2004|pages=81–82|publisher=Routledge Books|location=Abingdon|isbn=978-0-7146-8440-6}}</ref> The deterioration of the security situation there led to its purchase of another 16 AML-60s and 20 AML-90s, which had been initially rejected due to their expense but were now deemed necessary for their significant offensive capabilities.<ref name="Irish">{{cite book | last = Adrian English| title = Irish Army Orders of Battle 1923–2004 |edition= 2005|pages= 56–78 | publisher = Tiger Lily Books| isbn= 978-0-9720296-7-4| year = 2005 }}</ref> A reconnaissance company consisting of at least 4 UNFICYP AML-90s and 14 [[Panhard M3]]s were subsequently shipped from Cyprus to Lebanon alongside the 43rd Irish Battalion, which joined the newly formed UNIFIL.<ref name="Irish" /> As the most heavily armed of the national UNIFIL contingents, the Irish AMLs frequently functioned as a mobile force reserve.<ref name="Irish" /> They were also used for manning checkpoints between the belligerent SLA and [[Palestine Liberation Organization]] (PLO) positions.<ref name=O>{{cite book|last=O'Clery|first=Conor|title=May You Live in Interesting Times|date=2008|pages=24–362|publisher=Poolberg Press Ltd|location=Dublin|isbn=978-1-84223-325-2}}</ref> By 1980 at least one AML had been damaged by a PLO RPG-7 aimed at the SLA lines. The armoured car caught fire, though all three crew members survived.<ref name=O />

On August 12, 1980, SLA militiamen attacked an Irish UNIFIL checkpoint at the village of At Tiri in southern Lebanon,<ref name=O /> having been antagonised by a statement made by [[Brian Lenihan Snr]], Ireland's minister for foreign affairs, which they perceived as supportive of the PLO.<ref name="Harvey">{{cite book |last=Harvey |first=Dan |title=Attack on At Tiri: Force Met With Force |location=Dunboyne |publisher=Maverick House |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-908518-18-7 |pages=12–136}}</ref> One peacekeeper was mortally wounded, nine others taken prisoner, and the checkpoint overrun.<ref name="Harvey" /> The SLA then deployed four [[M9 Half-track]]s equipped with [[Browning M2|Browning HB]] heavy machine guns, which they used to harass UNIFIL convoys. Two days later, Irish AML-90s counterattacked and retook the village. One half-track was immobilised, and a second destroyed after receiving a direct hit from a 90&nbsp;mm shell.<ref name=O /> A third was abandoned when its Browning was disabled by warning fire from an AML's coaxial machine gun.<ref name="Harvey" /> The armoured cars also held a tense standoff with SLA [[Super Sherman|M50 "Super" Sherman]] tanks on the outskirts of At Tiri, although the latter ultimately declined to intervene in the fighting and were not engaged by Irish forces.<ref name="Badran" /> They withdrew upon the arrival of Dutch UNIFIL reinforcements armed with [[BGM-71 TOW]] missiles.<ref name="Harvey" />

At least one AML-90 crew commander was awarded Ireland's highest military honour, the [[Military Medal for Gallantry]], for actions during the At Tiri engagement.<ref name="Harvey" /> Irish AMLs may have seen action again in 1996 during [[Operation Grapes of Wrath]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Elliot|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=http://www.contactairlandandsea.com/2009/Past_Editions/cc04/cc04.pdf|date=June 2013|title=Out with a bang|journal=Combat Camera|page=14}}</ref>

====Yemen====
In 1974, North Yemeni political leader [[Abdullah ibn Husayn al-Ahmar]] traveled to Saudi Arabia to negotiate the transfer of arms to the fledgling [[Yemen Arab Republic]], which was rebuilding its armed forces after a recent [[North Yemen Civil War|civil war]].<ref name="Yemen1">{{cite web|title=SAG willing to purchase arms for YAR|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1974JIDDA05143_b.html|location=Washington DC
|publisher=United States Department of State (republished by WikiLeaks) |date=5 September 1974|access-date=29 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027101848/https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1974JIDDA05143_b.html|archive-date=27 October 2016}}</ref> The Royal Saudi Army agreed to donate 31 AML-90s from its own stocks, as well as provide the necessary instructors for training Yemeni crews.<ref name="Yemen1"/> When [[Ali Abdullah Saleh]] became president of North Yemen in the late 1970s, the AML-90s were transferred to various paramilitary units in [[Sana'a]] and repurposed as internal security vehicles.<ref name="CIA1">{{cite web|title=Soviet Ground Force Weapons And Armored Vehicles|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP88T00096R000800980002-6.pdf|location=Langley
|publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]]|date=December 1987|access-date=24 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170124133126/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP88T00096R000800980002-6.pdf|archive-date=24 January 2017}}</ref> Upon Yemeni unification, they were adopted into the integrated [[Republic of Yemen Armed Forces]].<ref name=Cordesman2016>{{cite book|last=Cordesman|first=Anthony|title=After The Storm: The Changing Military Balance in the Middle East|date=October 2016|pages=112–124, 701|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|location=London|isbn=978-1-4742-9256-6}}</ref> Yemen purchased another 15 AML-90s and AML-60s from France in 1998.<ref name="trade" />

In the early 2000s, Yemen's army and security forces possessed a fleet of 125 AML-90s and 60 AMLs of other variants, most of which had been acquired from undisclosed sources.<ref name=Cordesman2016 /> Due to attrition and age, the fleet dwindled to 95 by 2013.<ref name="Security3">{{cite web|title=Yemen|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=http://www.inss.org.il/he/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/systemfiles/Yemen.pdf|location=Tel-Aviv
|publisher=Institute For National Security Studies|date=6 October 2013 |access-date=26 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170726101809/http://www.inss.org.il/he/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/systemfiles/Yemen.pdf|archive-date=26 July 2017}}</ref> In 2014, the Yemeni army stripped a number of AML-90s of their turrets and refitted them to its [[BTR-60]]PB armoured personnel carriers, suggesting the former were finally nearing the end of their service life.<ref name="IHS">{{cite web|title=IHS Jane's Defence Insight Report|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=https://www.ihs.com/pdf/IHS-Janes-Land-Plat-Defence-Insight-Report_180277110913052132.pdf|location=London|publisher=Jane's Information Group|date=May 2014|access-date=26 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170726103825/https://www.ihs.com/pdf/IHS-Janes-Land-Plat-Defence-Insight-Report_180277110913052132.pdf |archive-date=26 July 2017}}</ref> Some AMLs have continued to see service in the ongoing [[Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)|Yemeni Civil War]].<ref name="Lost">{{cite web|title=Lost Armour of the Yemeni Civil War|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=http://lostarmour.info/yemen/item.php?id=8755|location=Limassol, Cyprus|publisher=Danesco Trading Ltd|date=May 2014|access-date=26 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170726105433/http://lostarmour.info/yemen/item.php?id=8755|archive-date=26 July 2017}}</ref>

====Iraq====
During the mid 1960s, France was investigating new sources for cheap, good quality crude oil in the Middle East and began cultivating strategic partnerships with both [[Iraq]] and [[Iran]] accordingly.<ref name=Oil>{{cite book|last=Styan|first=David|title=France and Iraq: Oil, Arms and French Policy-Making in the Middle East|date=1997|pages=84–87|publisher=I.B. Tauris & Company, Ltd|location=London|isbn=978-1-84511-045-1}}</ref> The establishment of strong bilateral ties between the French and Iraqi governments in 1967 coincided with several oil concessions being granted to a French firm, [[Elf Aquitaine]], and an Iraqi military programme to acquire new Western arms in the aftermath of the Six-Day War.<ref name=Oil /> A delegation from the [[Iraqi Armed Forces]] first visited Paris around December 1967, and was followed by a second led personally by General [[Abdul Rahman Arif]] in February 1968.<ref name=Oil /> The Iraqis apparently placed orders for 75 AML armoured cars during both visits.<ref name="trade" /> Both orders resulted in a total of 106 AML-60s and 40 AML-90s being acquired by Iraq.<ref name=Razoux>{{cite book|last=Razoux|first=Pierre|title=The Iran-Iraq War|date=2015|pages=39, 89|publisher=Belknap Press|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|isbn=978-0-674-08863-4}}</ref> These sales were perceived by the French government as a practical manifestation of its new Middle Eastern policies and an opportunity for cultivating more interest in new oil and other commercial deals France hoped to sign with Iraq.<ref name=Oil /> The decision to transfer AMLs to Iraq was, much like the similar sale to Saudi Arabia, vilified by the French domestic press as a violation of a voluntary arms embargo imposed on the Middle East.<ref name=Oil /> In both cases, the French government maintained that the embargo excluded only arms with "clear offensive characteristics", such as tanks or fighter aircraft.<ref name=Oil />

Following the [[17 July Revolution|July 17 Revolution]], the [[Ba'ath Party (Iraqi-dominated faction)|Ba'ath Party]] assumed power in Iraq and turned to the Soviet Union as its principal supplier of arms.<ref name=Aburish>{{cite book|last=Aburish|first=Saïd|title=Saddam Hussein: The Politics of Revenge|date=2000|pages=[https://archive.org/details/saddamhusseinpol00abur/page/130 130, 143]|publisher=Bloomsbury Press|location=London|isbn=978-0-7475-4903-1|url=https://archive.org/details/saddamhusseinpol00abur/page/130}}</ref> Between 1968 and 1970 the Iraqi Army underwent a second major rearmament programme with Soviet assistance.<ref name=Aburish /> However, the Soviet government used this relationship to exert political pressure on the Ba'athist regime.<ref name=Aburish /> Iraqi officials also believed the Soviets were withholding their most sophisticated weapons from export and therefore embarked on a diversification effort to find secondary suppliers of arms, preferably in the West.<ref name=Aburish /> In 1972 the Ba'ath Party repaid France for not opposing its nationalisation of Iraqi oil by placing an order for some AML-90s.<ref name=Aburish /><ref name="trade" /> Estimates of the number initially sold and delivered to Iraq vary from 8 to 38; however, it is clear that this largely symbolic purchase was instrumental in re-igniting defence ties with France.<ref name=Aburish /> In 1974 the Iraqis placed a second order for another 20 AML-60s and 42 AML-90s, and subsequently for 2 AML-60s and 25 AML-90s.<ref name="trade" /> Most of the orders were small and timed to coincide with Iraqi requests for access to far more advanced French defence technology, but they rapidly accumulated; Panhard recorded the sale of 131 AML-60s and 101 AML-90s to Iraq between 1972 and 1980.<ref name=Iran1>{{cite book|last=Razoux|first=Pierre|editor1-last=Gibson|editor1-first=Bryan|editor2-last=Ashton|editor2-first=Nigel|title=The Iran-Iraq War: New International Perspectives|date=2012|pages=214–216|publisher=Routledge Books|location=New York|isbn=978-0-415-68524-5}}</ref>
[[File:AML-90 DM-SC-91-12078.JPEG|thumb|Iraqi AML-90 abandoned during [[Gulf War|Operation Desert Storm]].]]
In Iraqi service, AML platoons were typically attached at the brigade or battalion level and utilised for their traditional role of reconnaissance.<ref name=Jayhawk>{{cite book|last=Bourque|first=Stephen|title=Jayhawk! The VII Corps in the Persian Gulf War|date=2003|pages=136, 225|publisher=Diane Publishing Company|location=Collingdale, Pennsylvania|isbn=978-0-7567-2863-2}}</ref> A single Iraqi armoured reconnaissance platoon may have consisted of up to 8 AMLs.<ref name="AAW">''[https://books.google.com/books?id=-2vfAAAAMAAJ Armies & Weapons]''. Interconair, 1977, Volume Collected Issues 31-39, pp. 48-54.</ref> Each Iraqi Army corps and infantry division also had its own reconnaissance battalion with 46 AMLs and [[BRDM-2]] scout cars divided into two companies.<ref name=Jayhawk /> Most conventional reconnaissance duties were carried out by the AML-90s, which were valued for the size and range of their armament, while the AML-60s were relegated to secondary battlefield tasks.<ref name="AAW" />

Iraqi AMLs first saw action in [[Khuzestan Province]] during the [[Iraqi invasion of Iran (1980)|1980 invasion of Iran]].<ref name=Razoux /> Lacking adequate air cover, a number were destroyed by Iranian [[Bell AH-1 Cobra]] attack helicopters on September 28 near [[Bostan, Iran|Bostan]].<ref name=Razoux /> In 1991, AML-90s were deployed again, somewhat ineffectually, against [[United States Marine Corps]] and [[Saudi Arabian National Guard|Saudi National Guard]] troops during the [[Battle of Khafji]].<ref name="Khafji">{{cite book | last = Otto Lehrack| title = America's Battalion: Marines in the first Gulf War|edition= 2005|pages= 188–89 | publisher = The University of Alabama Press| lccn= 2004016593}}</ref> Their appearance at Khafji may have led to some initial confusion, since the armoured cars were also operated by the Saudis.<ref name="Khafji" /> Many Iraqi crews failed to take advantage of their vehicles' mobility and engaged the coalition forces from static positions until they were wiped out by artillery.<ref name="Khafji" /> During the [[Liberation of Kuwait campaign|Liberation of Kuwait]] and the subsequent coalition counter-offensive, air superiority was the deciding factor in most reconnaissance operations. The US made use of scout helicopters armed with BGM-71 TOW missiles, which frequently obliterated Iraqi AMLs at long range before they could observe or harass allied ground forces.<ref name=Safwan>{{cite book|last1=Bourque|first1=Stephen|last2=Burdan|first2=John|title=The Road to Safwan: The 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry in the 1991 Persian Gulf War|date=2007|page=121|publisher=University of North Texas Press|location=Denton, Texas|isbn=978-1-57441-232-1}}</ref><ref name=Chronicles>{{cite book|last=Lowry|first=Richard|title=The Gulf War Chronicles: A Military History of the First War with Iraq|date=2008|page=54|publisher=iUniverse, Incorporated|location=New York|isbn=978-1-60528-006-6}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|certain=yes|date=December 2017}} Others were destroyed on the ground during the first day of the coalition thrust into Kuwait, namely by US [[M1 Abrams]] tanks.<ref name=Jayhawk />

The US estimated that the Iraqi Army was operating 300 AMLs in 1990.<ref name="Benning">{{cite journal|last=Jacobson|first=Michael|title=Armor in Desert Shield|journal=Infantry Magazine|pages=33–34|publisher=US Army Infantry School|location=Fort Benning, Georgia|date=November–December 1990}}</ref> Iraq lost about half its armoured reconnaissance vehicles during the Gulf War.<ref name=cordesman99-praeger>{{cite book|last=Cordesman|first=Anthony H.|title=Iraq and the War of Sanctions: Conventional Threats and Weapons of Mass Destruction|year=1999|publisher=Praeger|location=Westport, Connecticut|isbn=978-0-275-96528-0|edition=1st published|pages=[https://archive.org/details/iraqwarofsanctio00cord/page/103 103–104]|url=https://archive.org/details/iraqwarofsanctio00cord/page/103}}</ref> A small number of AML-90s and AML-60s remained in service, although they were increasingly threatened by erratic maintenance and lack of spare parts.<ref name=cordesman99-praeger /> When a US-led coalition [[2003 invasion of Iraq|invaded Iraq in 2003]], Iraqi AMLs clashed with a contingent of American tanks attached to [[3rd Battalion, 4th Marines]] as they advanced on [[Nasiriyah]].<ref name=Gilbert>{{cite book|last=Gilbert|first=Oscar|title=Marine Corps Tank Battles in the Middle East|date=2015|pages=123–124|publisher=Casemate Publishers|location=Havertown, Pennsylvania|isbn=978-1-61200-267-5}}</ref>

====Egypt====
Egypt first encountered Israeli AML-90s in the Sinai Peninsula during the Six-Day War, where at least one platoon was deployed against Egyptian T-54 tanks on several occasions.<ref name="T-54" /> Some were captured by the defending Egyptian forces during the Israeli campaign, with individual examples being pressed into service.<ref name="Suez" /> Their performance sufficiently impressed the [[Egyptian Army]] that it later issued its own requirement for an armoured car with a turret-mounted 90&nbsp;mm gun, preferably firing [[Armour-piercing discarding sabot|discarding sabot]] projectiles for improved anti-tank purposes.<ref name="FYEO">''[https://books.google.com/books?id=zFMxAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Egypt+has+requested+bids+for+an+armored+car%22 For Your Eyes Only: an Open Intelligence Summary of Current Military Affairs]''. Tiger Publications (Amarillo, Texas), 1982, Volume Collected Issues 34-53.</ref> Bids were accepted from six European contractors (including Panhard), for the programme, although it is unclear what vehicle was adopted.<ref name="FYEO" />

===Argentina===
[[File:Panhard AML H90 (4536094723).jpg|thumb|Captured Argentine AML-90 on display at [[Bovington Tank Museum]]]]
In the lead-up to the [[Falklands War]], Argentine commanders considered that the often extremely [[bog]]gy off-road conditions in the islands were unsuitable for all of the armoured vehicles available to them. Consequently, Argentine AMX-13-105 tanks were not deployed. For on-road operations, 12 AML-90s from ''Escuadron de Exploracion Caballeria Blindada 181'' (181st Armoured Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron) and an unknown additional number from ''Escuadron de Exploracion Caballeria Blindada 10'' were stationed near [[Port Stanley]]. 

While some Panhard crews reportedly took part in the [[Battle of Wireless Ridge]],<ref>{{Citation|last=Van der Bijl|first=Nicholas|title=Argentine Forces in the Falklands|publisher=Osprey Publishing|orig-year=1992|year=2005|page=23|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=At4WkVvc7tUC&pg=PA23|isbn=978-1-85532-227-1}}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> they appear to have fought dismounted, as makeshift infantry. There is no evidence that the Panhards themselves fired a shot in anger (let alone  encountering UK [[FV101 Scorpion]]s or [[FV107 Scimitar]]s). The Panhards were captured in Stanley after the general surrender of Argentinian forces.

{{sectstub|date=April 2023}}

===El Salvador===

In the [[Salvadoran Civil War]], at least one AML-90 was destroyed by [[Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front|FMLN]] insurgents with [[rifle grenade]]s and an [[M67 recoilless rifle]].<ref name="Retina">{{cite book |last=John Guzman|title=Reflections behind the Retina|edition= 2011|pages= 1–612 |publisher=Xlibris Corporation|isbn= 978-1-4653-0943-3|year=2011}}{{page needed|date=October 2018}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|certain=yes|date=December 2017}}<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laXQnJfpTlc&ab_channel=ThamesTv | title=El Salvador Civil War &#124; Military Junta &#124; Salvadoran Civil War &#124; TV Eye &#124; 1981 | website=[[YouTube]] | date=2 August 2018 }}</ref>

{{sectstub|date=April 2023}}

===Sub-Saharan Africa===
In 1987, during the [[Toyota War]], [[Chadian National Armed Forces|FANT]]'s use of swift wheeled vehicles, including AML-90s, allowed Chadian forces to break through combined arms formations and cause severe damage before the slower Libyan tanks could track or engage their targets. The Panhards, deployed in concert with [[MILAN]] missile teams at strategic hill junctures, frequently ambushed [[T-54/55|T-55s]] at a range of under three hundred metres.<ref name="Azevedo">{{cite book |last=Mario J. Azevedo|title=The Roots of Violence: A History of War in Chad|url=https://archive.org/details/rootsviolencehis00azev|url-access=limited|edition=1998|page=[https://archive.org/details/rootsviolencehis00azev/page/n101 90] |publisher=Gordon and Breach Publishers|isbn=978-90-5699-583-6|year=1998}}</ref>

In mid-December 2010, AMLs manned by [[Laurent Gbagbo]]'s supporters were used to intimidate [[Ivory Coast|Ivorian]] civilians in [[Abidjan]] and the western countryside.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/doc/doc1097345.pdf |title=Request for authorisation of an investigation pursuant to article 15. ICC-02/11-3. Case: Situation: Situation in the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire |date=23 June 2011 |website=www.icc-cpi.int |access-date=4 August 2021 |archive-date=16 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316082941/https://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/doc/doc1097345.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The ''Ecole de Formation et d'Application des Troupes Blindées'', at [[Mbanza-Ngungu]] in the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], was originally established by French Military Cooperation Mission to instruct African AML crews. Today, the academy can host 70 trainees; ten African armies are currently participating in the program.<ref name="Rouvez1994">{{cite book|author=Alain Rouvez|title=Disconsolate Empires: French, British and Belgian Military Involvement in Post-Colonial Sub-Saharan Africa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JWWdHZKB4fEC&pg=PA172|access-date=25 July 2013|date=1 January 1994|publisher=University Press of America|isbn=978-0-8191-9643-9|pages=172–174}}</ref>