The Leclerc Main Battle Tank built by Giat Industries is operational with the French Army and the Armed Forces of Abu Dhabi of the United Arab Emirates. The Leclerc was first operational with the French Army in 1992 and with UAE in 1995. Leclerc Mk 2 tanks with improved software and engine control system entered production in 1998. The French Army has over 200 Leclerc MBT’s in service and in November 2000 ordered a further 96, out of a total requirement of 406. 380 tanks have been ordered by UAE. BATTLE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM The Leclerc is fitted with the FINDERS (Fast Information, Navigation, Decision and Reporting System) battlefield management system, developed by Giat. FINDERS includes a colour map display which shows the positions of the host tank, allied and hostile forces and designated targets and can be used for route and mission planning. ARMAMENT The 120 mm 52 calibre smoothbore gun is fitted with a thermal sleeve and muzzle reference system. Fumes are exhausted with a compressed air unit. The gun, which fires APFSD (Armour Piercing Fin Stabilised Discarding Sabot) and HEAT (High Explosive Anti Tank) rounds, has a firing rate of 12 rounds/minute. The aiming system is entirely electrical for improved acceleration. The tank has an automatic loading system, which allows cross-country fire-on-the-move against mobile targets. 22 rounds of ready-to-use ammunition are carried. The tank is also armed with a 12.7 mm machine gun co-axial with the main gun and a roof-mounted 7.62 mm anti-aircraft gun. FIRE CONTROL AND OBSERVATION The digital fire control system allows the gunner or commander to select six different targets to be engaged in just over 30 seconds. The system's digital computer allows realtime treatment of data from the tank's sensors and sights. The commander has eight periscopes and an HL-70 stabilised panoramic sight from SFIM Industries, now part of SAGEM. HL-70 includes laser rangefinder, day channel, and second generation image intensifier. Recognition range is 4 km and identification range is 2.5 km. The commander has a display showing the gunner's thermal sight. The gunner's station is equipped with gunner's main sight, three periscopes and a visual display unit. The gunner's stabilised sight is SAVAN 20 from SAGEM, which contains a three field of view thermal imager. The driver's has three periscopes, the centre periscope being the OB-60 driver's sight developed by Thales Optrosys (formerly Thomson-CSF), which has day and night channels. SELF-PROTECTION Leclerc is fitted with Galix combat vehicle protection system, developed by GIAT and Etienne Lacroix. Nine launch tubes for the 80 mm grenades are fitted on either side of the turret roof. The Galix system can launch smoke or anti-personnel grenades or infrared decoys. PROPULSION The Leclerc is equipped with an SACM V8X-1500 Hyperbar diesel engine providing 1,500 hp at 2,500 rpm. An electronic engine management system is supplied by SAGEM. The SESM ESM 500 automatic transmission has a hydrostatic transmission unit and five forward and two reverse gears. The engine is fitted with a Suralmo-Hyperbar high pressure gas turbine. The engine provides a road speed over 70 km/hour and cross country speed up to 50 km/hour. The tank also has a Turbomeca TM-307B gas turbine auxiliary power unit. The hydropneumatic suspension system is from Societe d'Applications des Machines Motrices (SAMM). UAE TROPICALISED LECLERC MAIN BATTLE TANK The tropicalised Leclerc is optimised for tropical and desert conditions to meet the requirement of the UAE. A new powerpack and diesel auxiliary power unit has been installed and the hull is extended at the back to accommodate the powerpack and larger fuel tanks. The Euro Powerpack has the MTU 883 V-12 diesel engine providing 1,500 hp, coupled with Renk HSWL295 TM automatic transmission. For this and export versions of the tank, Giat has developed the Leclerc Battle Management System (LBMS), a derivative of FINDERS. The HL-70 commander's sight has been replaced by the HL-80, also from SFIM. LECLERC NEW GENERATION RECOVERY VEHICLE The Leclerc New Generation Recovery Vehicle (NGRV) has a longer hull with seven pairs of wheels. An hydraulically operated blade at the front of the vehicle is used to clear a path through battlefield obstacles. The vehicle is equipped with an hydraulic crane rated to lift 30,000 kg loads and a winch with 180 m cable rated at 35,000 kg. A secondary winch is rated at 1,500 kg. The crane and winch systems are supplied by Rheinmetall Landsystemes GmbH. Development Project definition on the Engin Principal de Combat (EPC) was completed by the Atelier de Construction d'lssy-les-Moulineaux in 1985 and by that time five test rigs were already being used in component development, one for the suspension, three for automotive trials and the fifth for the weapon system. On 30 January 1986 it was announced that the EPC would be named the Leclerc. Project definition for the Leclerc was completed in mid-1986 and in the same year it was decided to build six complete prototypes of the vehicle; the first of these was completed late in 1989. The Leclerc made its first public appearance at the 1990 Satory exhibition of defence equipment for the ground forces. The first production Leclerc MBT was completed by Giat Industries in December 1991 and handed over to the French Army on 14 January 1992. A total of six Giat Industries facilities is involved in the production of the Leclerc MBT: Toulouse, Saint-Chamond, Tulle, Bourges, Tarbes and Roanne. Turret construction and integration are undertaken at Tarbes while Roanne builds the complete chassis and then integrates this with the turret. The completed Leclerc is then tested and delivered. The total French Army order for the Leclerc MBT has still not been decided but it is understood to be for 406 vehicles which will enable production of the Leclerc to continue through to early in the 21st century. The first batch will consist of 310 vehicles with the second batch is to be 96 vehicles. Late in 1998, Giat Industries was awarded a contract for 88 Leclerc MBTs for delivery by March 2003. This brought the total French Army order up to 310 MBT vehicles. Each Leclerc MBT regiment has a total of 40 vehicles, one at regimental HQ and three squadrons each with 13 vehicles, one at squadron HQ and three troops each with four vehicles. The first regiment equipped with the new Leclerc MBT is the 501-503Rd RCC. ' By early 1999 total production of Leclerc MBT amounted to 400 vehicles of which about 170 were for the French Army and the remainder for the United Arab Emirates. Specifications Property Value Crew 3 Weight (kg) 54500 Length (mm) 9870 Width (mm) 3710 Height (mm) 2530 Max. road speed (km/h) 71 Average speed on dry soil road (km/h) 50 Max. road range (km) 450 Vertical obstance (mm) 1250 Trench (mm) 3000 Depth of fording, without preparation (mm) 1000 Fording depth (mm) 4000 Engine power output (h.p.) 1500 Number of forward gears 5 Number of reverse gears 2 AA gun caliber (mm) 12.7 Main weapon caliber (mm) 120 Auxiliary gun calibre (mm) 7.62 Ammunition of the main gun 40 Ammunition in the autoloader 22 Elevation (degree) 15 Depression (degree) -8 Planes of gun stabilization 2 Ground pressure (kg/sm2) 0.9 Ground clearance (mm) 500 Length of track on ground (mm) 4318 Traverse arc (degree) 360 Fuel capacity (l) 1300 Number of smoke grenade launchers 14

Armament The Leclerc is equipped with a GIAT CN120-26 120mm smoothbore cannon. This cannon is theoretically capable of firing the same NATO standard 120mm rounds as the German Leopard 2 and US M1 Abrams, but in practice only custom 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 fume extraction cylinder. 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 five 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 [1], giving the rounds a higher muzzle velocity; on the other hand, the latest German and British tanks have 55 calibre guns which are even more powerful, and American tanks use advanced depleted-uranium penetrator rounds to compensate for their shorter guns. The Leclerc is also equipped with a 12.7 mm coaxial machine gun and a remote-controlled 7.62mm antiaircraft machine gun, whereas most other NATO tanks use 7.62mm weapons for both their coaxial and top machine gun mounts; the major exception is the American M1 Abrams, which has a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun and two top-mounted machine guns, one 7.62mm and one 12.7mm. [edit] 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 upgrades over the years. The French army in the late seventies rejected Chobham armour as being overly specialised in its optimisation to defeat hollow charge-weapons; it therefore opted to develop a steel perforated armour system, comparable to that on the early Leopard 2. When the Leclerc was introduced in the early nineties this was still considered adequate, due to the larger thickness of its modules compared to the armour of other modern western tanks, made possible — for a given weight limit — by the compact design of the tank as a whole. However during the nineties standards for tank armour protection increased, as exemplified by the Leopard 2A5, its main rival on the export market, being fitted with an additional spaced armour system. Thus it was decided to follow the Germans (Leopard 2A4) and British (Challenger 2) in their application of a titanium-tungsten system, which was introduced to the Leclerc in 2001, in Batch 10. The inner spaces are filled with NERA. [edit] Fire control and observation The Leclerc has a FINDERS battle management system and an ICONE TIS digital communication system which integrates data from other tanks and upper levels of command. The Leclerc' 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 and the driver's night/day OB-60 vision system from Thales Optrosys. The system can track six targets concurrently and is very much like a similar system made by the same company for the Challenger 2 tank of the United Kingdom. [edit] Propulsion The Leclerc has an eight-cylinder, Wärtsilä (ex SACM) V8X-1500 1,500 hp Hyperbar diesel engine and a SESM ESM 500 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. 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 tonne) 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 tank. Transmission is a hydromechanical type with five forward and two reverse gears. Fuel tanks carry 1,300 litres and act as extra protection; 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 decceleration rate of 7 m/s² (0.7 g) which can be very useful at the last moment before it could be hit. The crew must be strapped in safely with their harness to use this. [edit] Combat experience The first Leclerc were commissioned in 1992, too late for the 1991 Gulf war, and have not been used in all-out war. As for "low-intensity conflicts", 15 Leclercs have been deployed in Kosovo in the context of UN peace-keeping operations, where their performance was judged satisfactory by French officials. Currently 13 Leclerc are deployed in the south Lebanon for a peacekeeping mission with the UNIFIL. [edit] Variants * Leclerc AZUR:Action en Zone Urbaine, "Improve fighting ability in urban environments" * Leclerc EPG: Engin Principal du Génie, "main engineering vehicle": armoured engineering * Leclerc DNG: Dépanneur Nouvelle Génération: repair tank * Leclerc MARS: Moyen Adapté de Remorquage Spécifique: tugboat tank Leclerc used by the Army Forces of United Arab Emirates. Leclerc used by the Army Forces of United Arab Emirates. * Leclerc EAU: "Tropicalised" version of the United Arab Emirates; it is fitted with: o EuroPowerPack with the MTU 883 diesel engine of 1,100 kW. The United Arab Emirates have interests in the German company which builds them (MTU) and preferred an engine of their own. This powerplant is more reliable than the French UDV 8X (1,500 HP), though it has small problems with the clutch. o Externally mounted auxiliary power unit o Remote-controlled mount for 7.62 mm machine-gun, allowing under-armor operation o Completely automated driving and turret functions, for use by crew with only basic training. o Mechanical air-conditionning, to cool the tank without the use of electric current which could reveal the position of the tank

AMX-56 Leclerc

The AMX-56 Leclerc is a main battle tank (MBT) built by GIAT Industries of France. It was named in honour of General Philippe de Hauteclocque "Leclerc" who landed at Normandy and eventually led the drive towards Paris while in command of the Free French 2nd Armoured Division (2ème 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,[1] the Leclerc entered French service in 1992,[1] replacing the venerable AMX 30 as the country's main armoured platform. With production now complete, the French Army has a total of 406 Leclercs and the United Arab Emirates Army has 388.

History

At the start of the 1970s, the AMX-30 was ageing and, in 1977, the French Military drafted a requirement for a new main battle tank, called "EPC" (Engin Principal de Combat). Importation of foreign equipment, like the M1 Abrams, the Leopard 2, or the Merkava was studied and rejected; a joint programme with Germany, based upon the Leopard 2, went astray in 1979 and studies for a national project started then.

In contrast with most Western programmes, the stress was put on active, rather than passive protection, to limit the overall mass of the vehicle. Mobility for evading incoming fire and firing control were given particular attention.
The gunner's position, looking down from the turret roof.
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 first batch, used mainly for comparative tests in foreign countries. The 17 units of batches 2 and 3 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.

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 visor with a SAGEM Iris system with thermal imaging, which allows acquisition of targets at a greater range.

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 and new armour. This is the beginning of the 96-unit third series. By 2007, 355 tanks should be operational, 320 of them incorporated in four regiments, each of 80 Leclerc vehicles.

The four regiments are:

* 1er-11e Régiment de Cuirassiers stationed in Carnoux-en-Provence, part of the 3rd Mechanized Brigade.
* 6e-12e Régiment de Cuirassiers stationed near Orléans, part of the 2nd Armored Brigade.
* 1er-2e Régiment de Chasseurs stationed near Verdun, part of the 7th Armored Brigade.
* 501e-503e Régiment de Chars de Combat stationed in Mourmelon-le-Grand, 1st Mechanized Brigade.