Leclerc tank

The Leclerc is a third-generation French main battle tank developed and manufactured by Nexter Systems. It was named in honor of Marshal Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque, a commander of the Free French Forces, who led the 2nd Armoured Division in World War II. The Leclerc is in service with the French Army, Jordanian 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 operate 222 Leclercs (with 184 more in storage, for a total of 406), while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) possesses 388. Of the units in French service, 200 will be upgraded to the Leclerc XLR standard with deliveries expected to begin in 2022. 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, and in 1977 it 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" (Engin Principal de Combat). 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, more emphasis was placed on active than passive protection to limit overall vehicle mass. Mobility for evading enemy fire and fire control systems were given particular attention.

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Related concepts (12)

Leclerc tank

Main battle tank

A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the role of armor-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more powerful engines, better suspension systems and lighter composite armor allowed for the design of a tank that had the firepower of a super-heavy tank, the armor protection of a heavy tank, and the mobility of a light tank, in a package with the weight of a medium tank.

Armoured warfare

Armoured warfare or armored warfare (American English; see spelling differences), is the use of armoured fighting vehicles in modern warfare. It is a major component of modern methods of war. The premise of armoured warfare rests on the ability of troops to penetrate conventional defensive lines through use of manoeuvre by armoured units. Much of the application of armoured warfare depends on the use of tanks and related vehicles used by other supporting arms such as infantry fighting vehicles, self-propelled artillery, and other combat vehicles, as well as mounted combat engineers and other support units.