France formally handed over the first anti-tank missile system with HOT missiles to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) on 29 May, the French embassy in Beirut announced.

The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) received VCAC Mephisto anti-tank missile launcher vehicles and 48 HOT 2 missiles, which have a range of 4,000 m.

The VCAC Mephisto is a long-range anti-tank missile system based on wheeled armoured vehicle personnel carrier VAB fitted with anti-tank missile launcher turret. It uses the same chassis of the Renault Trucks Defense VAB 4×4 armoured personnel carrier. The French Army was the only user of the VCAC system.

The Lebanese Armed Forces has also received 10 dogs trained to detect explosives as part of an assistance package that was worth close to EUR30 million, Pescheux said.