The Armoured Cavalry Arm (French: Arme blindée cavalerie, ABC) ([aʁm blɛ̃de kavalʁi]) is a component of the French Army. It was formed after World War II by merging the combat tank and cavalry branches. It operates the majority of France's armoured vehicles, though a small minority of France's armour is still operated by infantry regiments. It continues the traditions of the French cavalry and combat tank branches from which it is descended, as well as those of the defunct horse artillery, from which it is not actually descended.
Its training establishment is the Cavalry School in Saumur.
The employment doctrine of the arme blindée et cavalerie includes the traditional missions of the cavalry adapted to a modern context:
In 2017, the Armoured Cavalry Branch of the French Army consists of:
4 Tank regiments, which field 60x Leclerc main battle tanks each:
1er Régiment de Chasseurs (1er RCh) in Verdun
5e Régiment de Dragons (5e RD) in Mailly-le-Camp
12e Régiment de Cuirassiers (12e RC) in Olivet
501e Régiment de Chars de Combat (501e RCC) in Mourmelon-le-Grand
4 Cavalry regiments, which field a mix of AMX 10 RC and ERC 90 wheeled tanks:
1er Régiment de Spahis (1er SPAHIS) in Valence
1er Régiment de Hussards Parachutistes (1er RHP) in Tarbes
3e Régiment de Hussards (3e RH) in Metz
4e Régiment de Chasseurs (4e RCh) in Gap
5 combat support regiments:
1er Régiment de Chasseurs d'Afrique (1er RCA) training regiment in Canjuers
2e Régiment de Dragons - Défense Nucléaire Biologique et chimique (2 RD-NBC) NBC-defense regiment in Fontevraud-l'Abbaye
2e Régiment de Hussards (2e RH) reconnaissance regiment in Haguenau
4e Groupe d'escadrons de Hussards (4e GEH) support unit of the Region de Terre North-East (RTNO) in Metz - however, the land forces regional commands have been replaced since 2011 with joint commands. The former regional commands (RT, régions Terre) have been progressively replaced by Defense support headquarters (EMSD).
13e Régiment de Dragons Parachutistes (13e RDP) long range reconnaissance regiment in Martignas-sur-Jalle
