AMX Leclerc

"Leclerc" redirects here. For other uses, see Leclerc (disambiguation).
Leclerc

Demonstration of a Leclerc tank in Paris, on Bastille Day, July 14 in 2006
Type Main battle tank
Place of origin France
Service history
In service 1993–present
Wars Yemeni Civil War (2015)[1]
Production history
Designed 1983–1989
Manufacturer GIAT Industries (now Nexter)
Unit cost ₣rs104,304,000 in 1993, US$4+million in 2016 [2]
Produced 1990–2008 (The last unit was produced in 2007 and the production line was closed, although Nexter retains the capability to build more if there is a need)
Number built ≈862
Specifications
Weight series 1: 54.5 tonnes[3]
series 2: 56.3 tonnes
series XXI : 57.4 tonnes[4]
Length 9.87 m (6.88 without gun[3])
Width 3.60 m[3]
Height 2.53 m[3]
Crew 3[3] (Commander, gunner, driver)
Armour modular composite armor
SXXI version include titanium, tungsten and semi-reactive layers.
Main
armament
 GIAT CN120-26/52 120mm tank gun[3]
40 rounds (1 round ready to fire in the chamber, 22 rounds inside the autoloader magazine with additional 18 rounds cylinder in the hull)
Secondary
armament
  • 12.7 mm coaxial M2HB machine gun (1,100 rounds)
  • 7.62 mm machine gun (3,000 rounds)
Engine 8-cylinder diesel SACM (Wärtsilä)
1,100 kW[3] (1,500 hp)
Power/weight 27.52 hp/tonne[3]
Transmission Automatic SESM ESM 500
Suspension hydropneumatic
Fuel capacity 1300 liters (1700 ℓ with fuel drums)
Operational
range
 550 km, 650 km (400 mi) with external fuel[3]
Speed 72 km/h (45 mph)[5]
Post-Cold War tanks
Under 120 mm gun
Under 50 tonnes
Over 50 tonnes
Not in service

The Char Leclerc is a main battle tank (MBT) built by GIAT, now Nexter of France. It was named in honour of General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque who led the French element of the drive towards Paris while in command of the Free French 2nd Armoured Division (2e DB) in World War II.

The Leclerc is in service with the French Army and the army of the United Arab Emirates. In production since 1991,[3] the Leclerc entered French service in 1992,[3] replacing the AMX 30 as the country's main armoured platform. With production now complete, the French Army has a total of 406 Leclerc and the United Arab Emirates Army has 388. The price in 2011 was €9.3 million, which made it the most expensive tank in history at the time.[6] Following the devaluation of the Euro its price fell dramatically, and in 2014 the K2 Black Panther surpassed the Leclerc's price record.

History

In 1964 studies were initiated about a possible replacement vehicle for the AMX 30: the Engin Principal Prospectif. In 1971, in view of the inferiority of the AMX 30 in comparison to the new generation of Soviet tanks about to be introduced, the Direction des Armements Terrestres ordered the beginning of the Char Futur project. In 1975 a working committee was created that in 1977 agreed on a list of specifications. In February 1980 however, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed with the Federal Republic of Germany involving the joint development of a MBT, called the Napoléon I in France and Kampfpanzer III in Germany. Fundamental disagreements about its desired configuration led to a failure of this cooperation in December 1982. It was announced that a purely French battle tank would be developed, called "EPC" (Engin Principal de Combat). Importation of foreign equipment, like the M1 Abrams, the Leopard 2, or the Merkava had been studied and rejected.[7]

In contrast to most Western programmes of the time, much consideration was given to active, besides passive protection, to limit the overall mass of the vehicle. Mobility for evading enemy fire and fire control systems were given particular attention. Nevertheless, it was a stated design goal to achieve at least double the protection against KE-penetrators in comparison to the level attained in then current MBTs of the fifty ton weight class, the latter indicated at about 400 mm RHA equivalency, the higher level at the same time protecting against shaped charges.[8]

The gunner's position, looking down from the turret roof.

Partnership with a foreign state was sought to limit the cost per unit, and this was found when the United Arab Emirates ordered 436 vehicles, adding to the 426 units already planned for the French Army.

In 1986, the project was started under the name of "Leclerc", six prototypes being built swiftly. Mass production started in 1990 with the four-unit Batch 1, used mainly for comparative tests in foreign countries. The 17 units of Batch 2 were shipped, with improvements in the turret and in the hull armour. These units were diagnosed with problems in the engine and suspension, and were quickly retired. Batch 3 followed with some improvements and have been used to define the doctrine of use, and instruction.

Batches 4 and 5 were better built, eliminating the recurrent problems in the powerplant, and are still in service, after having been refitted at the end of the 1990s. The second series started with Batch 6, with an added climate control system in the right rear of the turret. Batch 7 introduced a transmission system to the command vehicle, and a data system giving instantaneous vision of the state of all battle tanks and acquired targets. It also incorporated minor improvements in the visor. Batch 8 was a modernisation of the electronic system, and Batch 9 replaced the thermal imaging ATHOS by a SAGEM Iris with better resolution.

All previous batches will be modernised up to the standards of Batch 9 from 2005. In 2004, Batch 10 was presented, incorporating new information systems which could share the disposition of enemy and friendly units to all vehicles on the battlefield, and a new armor package. This was the beginning of the 96-unit third series. By 2007, 355 tanks should have been operational, 320 of them incorporated in four regiments, each of 80 Leclerc vehicles.

As of 2010, after a French defence review, each of the four regiments operated 60 Leclerc tanks for a total of 240 in operational units; with a further 100 Leclerc in combat ready reserve. Due to finance cuts, only 254 tanks were fully operational in 2011.[6]

The four regiments are:

Design

Armament

The commander's sight is on the right and gunner's sight on the left side of the picture.

The Leclerc is equipped with a GIAT (Nexter) CN120-26 120mm smoothbore cannon. This cannon is capable of firing the same NATO standard 120mm rounds as the German Leopard 2 and US M1 Abrams, but in practice only French-produced ammunition is issued. The gun is insulated with a thermal sleeve and has an automatic compressed-air fume extraction system instead of the usual bore evacuator. The Leclerc has a unique autoloading system which was specifically designed for it, and reduces the crew to three by eliminating the human loader. The turret of the Leclerc was designed around the auto-loading system in order to avoid the problems common to other tanks with an autoloader. The Leclerc autoloader allows a rate of fire of 12 shots per minute and holds 22 rounds of ready ammunition; it can accommodate up to six different types of ammunition at once, although like most autoloader systems it cannot change ammunition types once a round has been loaded. The most common types are the armour piercing fin-stabilised discarding sabot (APFSDS) with a tungsten core and the high explosive anti-tank (HEAT) round. There are 18 other rounds available for reload. A Leclerc tank can fire while traveling at a speed of 50 km/h on a target 4,000 metres away. The gun is 52 calibres long instead of the 44 calibres common on most tanks of the Leclerc's generation,[3] giving the rounds a higher muzzle velocity.

The Leclerc is also equipped with a 12.7 mm coaxial machine gun and a remote-controlled 7.62 mm machine gun, whereas most other NATO tanks use 7.62 mm weapons for both their coaxial and top machine gun mounts; the major exception is the American M1 Abrams, which has a 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun and two top-mounted machine guns, one 7.62 mm and one 12.7 mm.

Protection

The Leclerc has the GALIX combat vehicle protection system from GIAT, which fires a variety of smoke grenades and infra red screening rounds, as well as anti-personnel grenades.

The hull and the turret are made of welded steel fitted with modular armour, which can be replaced easily for repair or upgraded over the years. The French army in the late 1970s rejected Chobham armour as being overly specialised in its optimisation to defeat hollow charge-weapons; it, therefore, opted to develop their own composite arrangement to defeat both hollow charge and sabot round. Due to the introduction of modernised threats, the batch 3 has a new armour package, including composite armour, titanium insert and on the sides of the turret, ERA blocks.

Fire control and observation

Closeup of the front of the Leclerc's turret; the 12.7mm coaxial machine gun can be seen below and to the side of the 120mm main gun

The last 96 MBT XL Leclerc have the ICONE TIS battle management system with digital communication system which integrates data from other tanks and upper levels of command. Since 2009, All Leclerc in service (S2 and SXXI) have ICONE BMS.

The Leclerc tank features the HL-60 gunner's primary sight from SAGEM. The sight's day channel offers X3.3 and X10 magnification (x14 in case of the UAE version). The night channel thermal intensifier offers X3, X6, X10 and X20 magnifications. No emergency or auxiliary sights are mounted. The laser range finder is of the Nd:YAG type. The tank commander can observe the surroundings through 7 periscopes and the HL-70 Panoramic sight. The HL-70 is equipped with a day channel at X2.5 and X10 magnification and a night channel with X2.5 magnification. On the Series XXI and UAE variant the HL-120 and HL-80 commander's panoramic sight are mounted respectively. The sight offers X2.5 and X10 magnification (and an electronic zoom X2) for the thermal intensifier and a laser range finder of the Nd:YAG type. Both sights are also equipped with a semi auto tracker for target acquisition. The combination of the gunner's primary sight and commander's panoramic sight allows the Leclerc to operate in a hunter-killer mode.

The Leclerc's digital fire control system can be operated independently by the gunner or the commander, and it offers real time integrated imaging from all of the tank's sensors and sights, including the gunner's SAVAN 20 stabilised sight, developed by SAGEM.

Propulsion

The Leclerc has an eight-cylinder SACM (now Wärtsilä) V8X-1500 1,500 hp Hyperbar diesel engine and a Renk AG [9][10] automatic transmission, with five forward and two reverse gears. The official maximum speed by road is 72 km/h and 55 km/h cross country (speeds in excess of 80 km/h were reported on road). The maximum range is given as 550 km, and can be extended to 650 km with removable external tanks. The "hyperbar" system integrates a Turbomeca TM 307B gas turbine in the engine, acting both as a turbocharger and an APU giving auxiliary power to all systems when the main engine is shut down. The Hyperbar name comes from the unusually high boost pressure of 7.5 bar and the resulting mean effective pressure of 32.1 bar.[11] To compare, the largest diesel engine in the world (the Wärtsila RTA96) has a mean effective pressure of 18.6 bar.[12] In addition, with boost available even at idle, this arrangement also works as an anti-lag system.

At a combat weight of just 56 tons, the Leclerc is one of the lightest main battle tanks in the world; this gives it one of the best power-to-weight ratios among the Western tanks (27 hp per ton) and makes it one of the fastest MBTs of its generation (0 to 32 km/h in 5 seconds).

The engine exhaust, exiting at the rear left, is cooled to reduce the thermal signature of the Leclerc. Transmission is a hydromechanical type with five forward and two reverse gears. Fuel tanks carry 1,300 litres and act as extra protection for the tank; two 200-litre external tanks can be fitted on the rear of the turret, but have to be jettisoned before entering combat since they limit turret rotation.

The gear box is equipped with a hydrokinetic retarder which can slow the Leclerc down at a deceleration rate of 7 m/s² (0.7 g) which is automatically used over 30 km/h.

A Leclerc on manoeuvres.

Combat history

In service since 1992 (after the Persian Gulf War), the Leclerc has mostly seen deployment on low-intensity conflicts, including 15 Leclerc stationed in Kosovo (KFOR) and others in Lebanon (UNIFIL) within UN peace-keeping operations, where their performance was judged satisfactory by French officials.

Until 2010, 13 Leclerc were deployed in the south Lebanon for a peacekeeping mission with UNIFIL.

As of August 2015, Leclerc tanks of the United Arab Emirates were deployed in combat operations in Yemen (near Aden) as part of the Saudi-led coalition.[1][13][14][15][16][17][18] It is estimated 70 Leclerc MBTs were deployed by the UAE in Yemen, 15 of them equipped with the AZUR package. 3 tanks were damaged, 2 by antitank mines and 1 by a RPG which damaged the grid without piercing the hull. None of these tanks were lost.[19]

Variants and upgrades

Séries 1: Original production model

Séries 2:

Séries XXI:

Leclerc AZUR Action en Zone Urbaine: proposed urban warfare kit for actions in urban areas.

Leclerc EPG Engin Principal du Génie: "main engineering vehicle": armoured engineering

Leclerc DNG Dépanneur Nouvelle Génération: recovery tank

Leclerc MARS : Moyen Adapté de Remorquage Spécifique: provisional armoured recovery vehicle prior to the arrival of the DNG.

Leclerc used by the Army Forces of United Arab Emirates.

Leclerc EAU Tropicalized: version of the United Arab Emirates; it is fitted with :

Leclerc Koufra, or Leclerc T40 : A proposal from the late 2000s to convert existing Séries 1 vehicles into a 'heavy' reconnaissance scout, primarily for urban warfare. The conversion included a brand new turret incorporating a CTA CT40 Case Telescoped Weapon System (CTWS) as well as grenade launchers, along with provision for two side mounted anti-tank missiles.[20]

Technical data

Description Leclerc Série 1 Leclerc Série 2 Leclerc Série XXI Tropicalized Leclerc
Produced 132 178 96 388
Date 1992–1996 1997-2003 2003-2008 1994 – early 2000s
Batch T1 to T5 T6 to T9 T10 to T11 Not applicable
Crew 3
Combat weight 54,5 t 56,3 t 57,6 t 57 t
Hull weight 36 t 37 t 37,5 t x
Turret weight 18,5 t 19 t 20,5 t x
Gunner sight HL 60 HL 130 HL 60
Commander panoramic sight HL 70 HL 120 HL 80
Engine SACM V8X Hyperbar 8-cylinder diesel engine MTU MT 883 Ka 500 12-cylinder diesel engine
Engine displacement 16,470 cm3 27,361 cm3
Forced induction ratio 7,8 3
Power output 1500 hp (1,118 kW) at 2500 RPM 1500 hp (1,118 kW) at 2700 RPM
Maximum torque 4850 Nm at 1700 RPM 4545 Nm at 2000 RPM
Acceleration from 0–32 km/h (0–20 mph) 5 seconds 5,5 seconds 6 seconds
Transmission SESM ESM 500 Renk HSWL 295 TM
Suspension system 12 SAMM ESO twin-cylinder oleopneumatic suspension
Maximum speed 72 km/h (backwards 38 km/h)
Fuel capacity 1,300 liters (up to 1700 liters with external fuel drums) 1,420 liters (up to 1820 liters with external fuel drums)
Hull length 6,88 m 7,03 m
Width 3,43 m (3,60 m with ballistic side skirts and 3,71 m with side-view mirrors)
Height 2,53 m (turret roof)
Ground clearance 500 mm
Wading depth without preparation 1,1 m
Wading depth with snorkel 4 m Not applicable
Trench passability 3 m
Climbing ability 1,1 m
Turret rotation time (360°) 12 seconds 9 seconds 12 seconds

Operators

Map of MBT Leclerc operators.

Current operators

See also

Tanks of comparable role, performance and era

References

  1. 1 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHwyBXnLRpI&feature=youtu.be&t=2m03s
  2. ↑ http://www.army-technology.com/projects/leclerc/
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Gelbart, Marsh (1996). Tanks main battle and light tanks. Brassey's UK Ltd. pp. 28–29. ISBN 1-85753-168-X.
  4. ↑ http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8212/8390203044_6cbb6be4c9_b.jpg
  5. ↑ http://defense-update.com/products/l/leclerc.htm
  6. 1 2 http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=6442452&c=FEA&s=INT
  7. ↑ Enrico Po, 1990, "The MBT LECLERC: French Armour Enters the 21st Century", Military Technology No. 9/90, pp. 79–86
  8. ↑ "First light on the LECLERC", Military Technology No. 4/86, pp 82–83
  9. ↑ Renk ESM500
  10. ↑
  11. ↑ Moteur V8X suralimenté hyperbar de 1500ch Archived August 15, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  12. ↑ Doosan Engine : Doosan-Wartsila
  13. ↑ http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/policy-budget/warfare/2015/08/02/united-arab-emirates/31023089/
  14. ↑ http://pbs.twimg.com/media/CLZORvfUkAAQAHq.jpg
  15. ↑ http://www.air-defense.net/forum/topic/8092-le-yemen-en-voie-de-somalisation/page-29
  16. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-12-10. Retrieved 2015-08-03.
  17. ↑ Yemen: Hundreds of Saudi tanks roll out of Aden to bolster Hadi loyalists - Ruptly TV, Aug 4, 2015
  18. ↑ Kavanaugh, Shane Dixon. "Tiny UAE Tests Its Military Might In Yemen". Vocativ. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  19. ↑ http://www.lopinion.fr/blog/secret-defense/70-chars-leclerc-emiratis-engages-yemen-28202
  20. ↑ http://secretdefense.blogs.liberation.fr/2009/06/10/le-char-leclerc-que-vous-ne-verrez-sans-doute-jamais/

Sources

External links

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