Leclerc tank


The Leclerc tank is a main battle tank 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 in World War II. The designation AMX-56 – while very popular – is incorrect.
The Leclerc is in service with the French Army and the United Arab Emirates Army. In production since 1991, the Leclerc entered French service in 1992, replacing the AMX 30 as the country's main armoured platform. With production now complete, the French Army has 406 Leclercs 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.

History

In 1964, studies were initiated about a possible replacement vehicle for the AMX-30 main battle tank: 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 West 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". The importation of foreign equipment, like the M1 Abrams, the Leopard 2, or the Merkava, had been studied and rejected.
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.
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.
, 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 in combat ready reserve. Due to finance cuts, only 254 tanks were fully operational in 2011.
The four regiments are:
In September 2018 Der Spiegel raised questions about the size of the commission paid by GIAT to intermediaries.

Design

Armament

Primary

The Leclerc is armed with a 120 mm modèle F1 smoothbore gun designed by the arsenal of Bourges under the designation of CN120-26. Its barrel is 52 calibres long instead of the 44 calibres common on most main battle tanks of its generation, giving the projectile a higher muzzle velocity.
The Modèle F1 is compatible with 120x570mm NATO ammunition. This gun features a magnesium alloy thermal sleeve and an automatic loading mechanism. Elevation, depression, and turret traverse are electrically powered. The Leclerc EMAT used by the French Army relies on compartment overpressure for barrel fume extraction while the UAE tropicalized Leclerc uses a compressed-air fume extraction system.

Autoloader

Located inside the turret bustle, the autoloader is designated CHA and was designed by Creusot-Loire Industrie. The autoloader itself weighs 500 kg and has a total volume of 1.68 m3. In case of ammunition cooking off, the deflagration is vented by two blow-out panels.
The autoloader allows the reloading of the gun while firing on the move, providing it a sufficient rate of fire to deal with six targets in one minute. The nominal firing sequence is below 8 seconds and the repetition rate is below 6 seconds. The autoloader is managed by a TM Motorola 6800021 microprocessor.
The autoloader consists of a continuous link carrier magazine made of 22 cells and a rammer assembly. It can accommodate all types of ammunition that are to the NATO standard. Up to six different types of ammunition can be selected.
The cell positions the selected round for loading. At the same time, the main gun is decoupled from the stabilization system, indexed to -1.8° elevation and locked in alignment with the loading gutter.
Then, a telescopic rammer pushes the round from the cell into the gun breech via a fiberglass gutter. After loading, the weapon is automatically driven back to the specified angle in accordance with the fire control system.
In case of power outage, the conveyor can be put into motion by using a hand-cranked electric generator.
The ammunition is normally inserted in the autoloader through a port in the rear wall of the turret bustle. A control panel allows the autoloader cells to be rotated to present a new empty cell. Two barcode readers identify the introduced ammunition in order to manage its position in the conveyor at any time. If the ammunition does not have a barcode, its type is entered through the control keyboard. It is possible to replenish the autoloader under armor, through a port in the inner bulkhead by using the 18 rounds cylinder located to the right of the driver's position

Secondary

The Leclerc is also equipped with a 12.7 mm coaxial M2 heavy machine gun and a roof-mounted 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.

Fire control and observation

The last 96 MBT XL Leclerc tanks 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 the Leclerc tanks in service have ICONE BMS.
The 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.
The Leclerc tank features the HL 60 gunner's primary sight from SAGEM. The sight has two day channels; a direct one with ×3.3 and ×10 magnification and a video channel with ×10 magnification. The thermal channel offers ×3 and ×10 magnifications.
The Athos thermal imager has a detection range of 5000 m, can recognize targets at 2500 m and identify them at 2000 m. The laser range finder is of the Nd:YAG type. No emergency or auxiliary sights are mounted.
The tank commander can observe the surroundings through 7 episcopes and the SFIM HL 70 stabilized panoramic sight. The HL 70 is equipped with a day channel at ×2.5 and ×10 magnification and a night channel with ×2.5 magnification.
The UAE tropicalized Leclerc uses the improved HL 80 panoramic sight which features an electronic zoom ×2 and a laser range finder of the type. The image intensifier is replaced by an Alis thermal imager.
The Leclerc SXXI uses the HL 120 panoramic sight that incorporates an Iris thermal imager.
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.

Protection

Thermal signature

A feature of the Hyperbar system used by the V8X1500 engine is that it does not emit visible smoke during acceleration, allowing to reduce the infrared signature of the tank.
The exhaust temperature of the TM-307B gas turbine never exceed 370°, whatever the engine speed.

Ballistic

The AMX-APX armament institution was responsible for the studies related to the configuration and the integration of the new ballistic protection concepts.
Original protection requirements were sent by the EPC project manager to AMX-APX on February 8, 1980. The protection of the future French main battle tank must guarantee a certain degree of invulnerability against 125 mm APFSDS and 130 mm shaped-charges warheads over its frontal arc. The whole fighting compartment must be protected against RPG-7 warheads and all-around protection should be provided against threats such as 30 mm autocannons.
Stéphane Ferrard, a military historian and French journalist, stated in his book "The Leclerc System" that :
Over its 60-degree frontal arc, the tank should be able to withstand multiple impacts of APFSDS ammunition belonging to the largest caliber currently available on the market.

The turret and the hull are made of welded steel plates on which removable composite armor modules are mounted. Twelves modules surround the turret, they are numbered from 1 to 6, starting from the front end. The modules are covered by an anti-slip coating made of fiberglass.
The turret bustle that contains the autoloader is protected on both sides against the 30 mm armor-piercing rounds and shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon such as the RPG-7.
The composite storage boxes around and onto the turret have a triple role: carrying the tool set, reduce the radar cross-section and act as spaced armor.
Structural self-sealing fuel tanks are located to the right forward part of the hull, in front and above the ammunition drum. Six heavy ballistic side skirts protect the front third of the hull sides, each of them is made of a composite panel covered by a steel outer shell.
Block 10 and 11 Leclerc SXXI tanks feature an improved ballistic protection which contains titanium. This new generation composite armor package provides greater protection against APFSDS and shaped-charge ammunition of the largest caliber.
Both sides of the autoloader compartment are also reinforced by semi-reactive layers that required add-on ceramic armor onto the composite modules in which there are integrated.

Passive counter-measures

Fourteen 80 mm dispensers of the Lacroix GALIX self-defence system are mounted onto the rear part of the turret, the French Army use four types of ammunition :
The Leclerc has an eight-cylinder SACM V8X-1500 1,500 hp Hyperbar diesel engine and a Renk AG automatic transmission, with five forward and two reverse gears. The official maximum speed by road is 71 km/h and 55 km/h cross country. 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. To compare, the largest diesel engine in the world has a mean effective pressure of 18.6 bar. 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 lighter main battle tanks in the world, though still considerably heavier than Soviet and later Russian designs; this gives it one of the best power-to-weight ratios among the Western tanks and makes it one of the fastest MBTs of its generation.
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 these 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 which is automatically used over 30 km/h.

Operational history

In service since 1992, the Leclerc has mostly seen deployment on low-intensity conflicts, including 15 Leclerc stationed in Kosovo and others in Lebanon within UN peace-keeping operations, where their performance was judged satisfactory by French officials.
Until 2010, 13 Leclercs 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 as part of the Saudi-led coalition. It is estimated that 70 Leclerc MBTs were deployed by the UAE in Yemen, 15 of them equipped with the AZUR package. During one month, three tanks were damaged, two by antitank mines and one by an RPG, which damaged the grid without piercing the hull. In a single incident; one Leclerc tank was hit and penetrated in the driver's hatch by an ATGM, possibly of Konkurs or Konkurs-M type, resulting in the death of the driver and injuries to the legs of the commander. None of these tanks were completely destroyed.

Variants and upgrades

Séries 1:
Original production model
Leclerc 'Flakpanzer' SPAAG:
Early 1990s development of the Leclerc fitted with a turret derived from that of the German Flakpanzer Gepard. Armed with twin 35 mm Oerlikon KDA autocannons and two twin pack Mistral SAM launchers. It was not adopted for service due to post-Cold War defence cutbacks.
Leclerc Crotale: A proposal from the same time period to fit the Crotale NG SAM system to a Leclerc chassis. Intended primarily to protect armored formations on the move against aerial attack. Again not proceeded with due to cutbacks. No prototype known to have been built.
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 on display in IDEX 2005 defense Exhibition in Abu Dhabi.
Leclerc Tropic : 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 as well as grenade launchers, along with provision for two side-mounted anti-tank missiles.
Leclerc T4 : Prototype with an elongated turret built in 1996. It was armed with a 140 mm smoothbore gun designed by the arsenal of Bourges. In order to avoid being scrapped, the prototype turret has been restored in the 2010s and mounted on a former Leclerc hull which was used in its last years as a towing vehicle. Following its restoration, the tank has been nicknamed Terminateur by the director of the technical section of the French Army that made everything to preserve this technological demonstrator.
In 2017, the Terminateur was presented with the experimental Scorpion camouflage.
Leclerc XLR : Newest upgrade package part of the SCORPION program. Inclusion of new tactical interfaces, new armor packages, RWS turret, as well as several additional sensors and grenade launchers. Deliveries starting in 2020.

Technical data

Operators