Leclerc French tank AMX-56

Leclerc French tank AMX-56 is the main combat unit of the armored French armed forces and the Armed Forces of the United Arab Emirates.

The most expensive, the most computerized (in the sense of sophisticated), the lightest of its classmates, and much more. The most controversial tank, not perfect in everything, but which set the direction of movement for the entire tank industry. By the way, the French are doing this for the second time, the first was Renault.

French tank Leclerc AMX-56

The AMX-56 fully meets modern requirements (this is a quote from an advertisement), despite the fact that it practically did not take part in actual combat operations. Leclerc French tank AMX-56 , very difficult to produce and ultimately expensive. Despite modern qualities and the presence of promising modifications, the AMX-56 leclerc as a battle tank remains a mystery. Its competitors, the German Leopard 2, the American M1 Abrams and the British Challenger 2, have all proven themselves well in various combat operations. Leclerc had a chance to take part in peacekeeping operations in Kosovo and Lebanon. In February 1999, 15 “leclerc” as part of the French contingent arrived in Kosovo. Currently, 13 tanks of this type and one ARV are part of the UN contingent in Southern Lebanon. At the time of its creation, the leclerc was the first battle tank produced by France after a gap of almost 30 years, and was regarded to a certain extent as a symbol of national pride.

To date, Leclerc is used only by the French and the United Arab Emirates.

“It was originally designed jointly with the Germans,” they write all sorts of nonsense about it, copying it from site to site. In general, I hardly believe that in those years there was any kind of cooperation between them in the military sphere. How to imagine this, in our understanding, “collective farm”. Who will pay for development? What if the MILITARY’s requirements for a tank are different? The Germans have one, the French have others. We develop it for our uncle, and even with our own money. In less serious "multinational" initiatives, tandems and trios tend to fall apart. Nevertheless, the Germans continued to develop the Leopard 2 family of tanks (there is an opinion that it is the best), if anyone is not aware, it is this machine that is in service with the NATO bloc, and not Uncle Abrams, as it might seem at first glance.

Leclerc AMX-56 driver's mechanic's workplace

Having received an assignment from the Ministry of Defense with their requirements and vision for the tank, in the 1970s, the French began to create it. Since 1983, they began to create, “and just like us, slowly and leisurely,” testing various components, schemes and concepts. The first real prototype (along with five others) was realized in 1989. After testing in the army, it was designated as “AMX-54” and was put into operation. Please note that in 25 years there has been practically nothing new, only the existing ones are slowly being improved. By the way, fourth generation tanks have never been created anywhere in the world.

Production began in 1990 (at GIAT Tarbes for turret components and GIAT Roanne for hull and final assembly). Deliveries began in 1991, but officially starting in 1992.

AMX-56 Leclerc gunner's seat

The tank was named "leclerc", in honor of the French general Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque.

No one is safe from a track failure

Following an international competition in early 1993, the United Arab Emirates selected the Giat Industries Leclerc main battle tank to equip its tank and mechanized units. The first two were delivered to the UAE at the end of 1994 by Russian An-124 military transport aircraft. It began operational use in the UAE army in 1996.

French tank AMX-56 in service with the United Arab Emirates

Compared to other Western main battle tanks, “that is, we are not talking about our any TESHKU,” leclerc is one of the lightest modern main battle tanks in operation, weighing 54,500 kg (54.5 tons). Internally, unlike the Leopard 2, M1 Abrams or Challenger 2, the Leclerc has an automatic loader (made by Creuzot-Loire) gun. This function, by the way, was taken from the Soviet design school. The automatic loader allows you to reduce the overall profile, and be content with three crew members - commander, gunner and driver. In Leclerc, the driver sits at the left front of the hull, the gunner sits to the right of the gun in the turret and the commander to the left of the gun, also in the turret. I won’t write anymore about who sits where :-), let’s start with the main differences.

It's sleek and modern in appearance, even elegant with a nicely raked front slab. Hull and turret, multi-layer armor with ceramic gaskets. It was the first to use partial modular armor protection for the front part of the hull. What it is. In case of damage, a separate module can be replaced. Every five years, tank armor becomes obsolete and is unable to withstand increasingly developed anti-tank weapons. So modules can be changed, constantly maintaining invulnerability.

French tank commander's workplace

A fully digital tank control system (expert opinion is a good idea, but very capricious), controls the operation of all systems: fire control system (FCS), on-board laser range finder, ballistic computer, passive night vision and various sighting optics. Navigation, color map display, demonstration of currently active targets, mission route planning, friend or foe option. In short, complete mincemeat. As stated, it can fire at six targets within a minute. It’s true that all this still doesn’t work well, and there are a lot of technical failures. Very expensive and highly qualified tech. service. For example, replacing tracks is necessary every 3,000 km, about 100,000 dollars. But the technical ideas included in the tank are very promising. By the way, players in the tank market are already adopting some concepts, the bar has been raised, the height must be taken. This is a very expensive “toy”, only six or seven countries are developing truly serious machines, these are England, Germany, France, Israel, the USA, Ukraine and, of course, Russia.

Leclerc French tank AMX-56 , turret-drive electric, with manual backup. The gun is stabilized on both axes, which allows firing “on the move” with accurate results.

A banal collision with a passenger car, which says nothing about the combat capabilities of the tank

Of course, there are various periscopes and combined sights; it’s a shame to talk about communications on modern machines, but of course there are. But the suspension is hydropneumatic, which is good for a comfortable and fast ride. 120 mm GIAT CN120-26/52 series smoothbore gun (lighter compared to rival guns of the same caliber), five types of 120mm shells. Due to the longer barrel (about a meter longer), the most powerful shot is the same type of projectile. According to statements, within a minute it can fire at five targets, with a probability of hitting 90%. Thus, the crew CAN HIT EVERYTHING from enemy armor (including fortified positions) to concentrated concentrations of troops. Ammunition types from standard NATO sizes.

anti-aircraft machine gun, remote type, holes for installing anti-personnel and smoke grenades are visible in the background

Rate of fire 12 rounds per minute. Another detail that is rare in Western tanks. A 12.7 mm front-facing machine gun, against lightly armored vehicles, a heavy machine gun (the front-facing ones are usually 7.62 mm caliber). Against air threats, 7.62 mm anti-aircraft machine gun.

Leclerc French tank AMX-56 TTX

Country France, start of service: 1992
Production: 862 pcs.
Crew: 3
Total length: 9.87m Width: 3.71m Height: 2.53m
Weight: 54,500 kg
Powerplant: 1 x SACM UDU V8X-1500 T9 8-cylinder diesel engine 1500 horsepower; 1 x Turbomeca TM-7038 gas turbine.
Top speed: 44mph (71 km/h) Maximum range: 342 miles (550 km)
Obstacles to be overcome:
elevation angle, degrees: 31, ditch width, m: 3, wall height, m: 1.25, ford depth, m: 1 (with OPVT - 4)

Weapons:

1 x 120 mm GIAT CN120-26/52 smoothbore gun
1 x 12.7 mm GIAT M693 (F2) machine gun
1 x 7.62 mm NFI anti-aircraft machine gun on the roof of the turret.
3x9 smoke grenade launchers

Ammunition:

40 x 120 mm shells, 1100 x 12.7 mm ammunition =
3000 x 7.62 rounds
27 x smoke/anti-personnel grenades

Options: AMX-56 “leclerc” - Designation of the model range

T1 - Pre-production models
T2 - prototypes
T3 - Basic production option
T4 - Main production option
T5 – The main production option is completed
T6 - Added Air Conditioning (due to problems with cooling the data center)
T7 - Added Air Conditioning (due to problems with cooling the data center)
T8 - Added Air Conditioning
T9 – IRIS thermal imaging camera installed
T10 -Improved armor protection; single command display and TCCS.
T11 -Improved armor protection; single command display and TCCS.
leclerc AZUR - Urban version of Combat Environment
EPG - Engineering Vehicle
DNG -Repair
MARS - Armored evacuation version
EAU - variant for operation in desert conditions, intended for export to the United Arab Emirates.

Armament

The main weapon of the AMX-56 Leclerc is the CN120-26 120-mm smoothbore cannon, which is considered the most powerful among all cannon guns installed on third-generation tanks, surpassing in firepower such an eminent competitor as the German Rh-120/L44 cannon of the Rheinmetall concern. With a relatively low weight of 3.5 tons, CN-120-26 is easier to stabilize than Rh-120/L55. Among the disadvantages of the French gun, one can note the low wear resistance of the barrel. So, if the resource of the Rh-120/L44 is 700 shots, then the CN-120-26 has only 400.

References

"Leopard 2 selection process in Sweden". Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved July 3, 2011
"Best Western MBT".
↑ a b
Army Technology - Leclerc - Main battle tank
Infodefensa.com (September 18, 2022). "Emirates hands over 80 French-made Leclerc tanks to Jordan - Infodefensa Mundo News". Defense Magazine Infodefensa.com
. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
[1]

Users

Current

France

406 battle tanks + 20 evacuation tanks. [3]

United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates

388 main battle tanks + 46 evacuation tanks [3] + 2 training tanks.

Jordan Jordan

80 cars donated by the United Arab Emirates [4]

Potential users

Qatar Qatar

At least 40 vehicles are expected to be sold during the multi-unit test. [ 5 ]

Modifications[edit]

“Block 1”
is the first batch of 50 tanks, put into service in 1992. As of 2010, these tanks have been removed from service with the French Armed Forces and are offered for export.
“Block 2”
:
Lot.6
– air conditioning installed;
Lot.7
- improved transmission;
Lot.8
- electronic systems have been modernized;
Lot.9
- improved Iris sight with a greater target detection range;
Lot.10
- entered service with the French Armed Forces under the designation
S-XXI
in 2007 and is in service with four regiments.

"Tropic"
is an export version of the tank for the UAE Armed Forces. It differs from the basic modification by the installation of a highly efficient air conditioner and the absence of underwater equipment. The power plant was replaced with a 1500-horsepower MTU 883 diesel engine with a Renck HSWL 295 transmission.

AZUR
(abbreviated from
Actions in Zone Urbaine
) is a modification of the tank optimized for combat operations in urban environments. The modification was first introduced in 2006 and includes:

a set of screens for protection against RPGs;

kit for protection against Molotov cocktails and other incendiary liquids;

wireless communication system with infantry;

a radar-based system that warns with a buzzer about objects in the immediate vicinity of the tank that are in the dead zone of the commander’s panoramic sight;

a remote-controlled 7.62-mm anti-aircraft machine gun with a fire control system capable of providing day and night guidance;

boxes at the stern, mounted on the brackets of the mounted fuel tanks, designed to accommodate additional supplies;

loudspeaker for announcements to civilians.