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2015-01-01

Leclerc main battle tank impresses Middle East

Six different targets engaged in just over 30 seconds

The Leclerc battle tank was first operational with the French Army in 1992 and the Middle East was quick to realise its worth with it coming to the region in 1995.

The French Army has 354 Leclerc MBTs in service. A Middle Eastern nation ordered 390 tanks and 46 armoured recovery vehicles. Deliveries of the tanks and ARVs were completed in 2004.

In 1992, the first Leclerc production tank was delivered to the French Procurement Agency, the DGA (Direction Générale pour l’Armement). As the first third-generation tank and with the capability to achieve firing accuracy on the move, the Leclerc tank is currently being delivered to the French army and a prominent Middle East country.

In 2006, Nexter unveiled the Leclerc optimised for urban operations. It is fitted with the AZUR kit, which consists of additional protection in the form of side skirts of composite material, bar armour on the rear of hull and turret to protect against rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and extra protection for the engine against petrol bombs.

Leclerc MK2 tanks with improved software and engine control system entered production in 1998.

A remotely controlled 7.62mm machine gun is also fitted in addition to the 120mm gun. The Leclerc is fitted with the FINDERS (fast information, navigation, decision and reporting system) battlefield management system, developed by Nexter Systems. 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.

Data exchange
The French Army has selected Nexter to equip its Leclerc main battle tanks with a terminal information system (TIS) called Icone (ergonomic communications and navigation interface). The initial phase of the contract covers the equipment of more than 100 Leclerc tanks.

The TIS has been developed together with EADS Defense Electronics Systems. It permits the exchange of digitised data including tactical situation and the graphic orders displayed on a background map, between the vehicle and higher level command.

The 120mm 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 a 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. Twenty two rounds of ready-to-use ammunition are carried. The tank is also armed with a 12.7mm machine gun co-axial with the main gun and a roof-mounted 7.62mm anti-aircraft gun.

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 Safran (formerly SAGEM).

HL-70 includes laser rangefinder, day channel, and second-generation image intensifier.

Gunner’s station
Recognition range is 4km and identification range is 2.5km. 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 Safran, which contains a three-field-of-view thermal imager.

The driver’s station has three periscopes, of which the centre periscope is the OB-60 driver’s sight developed by Thales Optronique (formerly Thomson-CSF), which has day and night channels.

Leclerc is fitted with Galix combat vehicle protection system, developed by Nexter and Lacroix Tous Artifices. Nine launch tubes for the 80mm grenades are fitted on either side of the turret roof. The Galix system can launch smoke or anti-personnel grenades or infrared decoys.

Nexter has developed the KBCM defensive aids suite which can befitted to the Leclerc. KBCM includes laser warner, missile warner, infrared jammer and the Galix system and can be integrated with the FINDERS battle management system. The French Army has evaluated the system.

The Leclerc is equipped with an SACM V8X-1500 Hyperbar diesel engine providing 1,500hp at 2,500rpm. An electronic engine management system is supplied by Safran. 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 70km/h and cross-country speed up to 50km/h.

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).

Maximum accuracy
With this system the tank is able to fire on the move with maximum accuracy. The acquisition system incorporates a direct day channel with magnifications of ×3.3 and ×10, video day channel with magnification of ×10, thermal infra-red channel which allows for detection at 5,000 m, recognition at 2,500 m and identification at 2,000 m, laser range-finder channel, bore-sighting channel and an emergency mode with operation of the mirror.

The modular, fully digital electronic unit is connected to the databus and the unit calculates and provides the angular position and speed of the target with a precision of 0.1 mrad. The commander has a SAGEM roof-mounted stabilized panoramic HL-70 sight which incorporates a laser range-finder, eight day periscopes and three control panels.

The tank commander also has a 15 cm TV monitor that repeats the image seen in the gunner’s sight and, in particular, the image from the thermal camera. A battle management system is installed together with a multiplexed numeric datalink with three computers.

Standard equipment on the Leclerc includes NBC (nuclear, biological, and chemical) protection system, deep fording kit, fire detection and suppression system for both crew and engine compartments, night vision systems and a communications system from Thales. The Leclerc can be fitted with snorkels to enable fording at up to 4m depth.

The tropicalised Leclerc is optimised for tropical and desert conditions to meet the requirement of Middle East countries. Thanks to the Euro-PowerPack and oleopneumatic suspensions the mobility of the tank across the difficult sand dunes is impressive. The autoloader, which reduces the crew to three people, enables firing on the move at high speed regardless of the terrain. Meanwhile, the Leclerc benefits from the performances of the 120 mm smooth bore gun which has a potent “Hunter Killer” effect.

This gun fires all types of 120 mm rounds; kinetic energy (armour-piercing, fin-stabilised, discarding sabot and explosive ammunitions) and High Explosive, to name just two and is equipped with Galix suite. Some of the Middle Eastern Leclerc’s MBTs are now equipped with the Azur kit which enhances 360° protection against rockets in urban warfare, and the country’s armed forces are currently integrating the Leclerc MBT in their global command and control systems.

For this and export versions of the tank, Nexter has developed the Leclerc Battle management equipment (LBME), a derivative of FINDERS. The HL-70 commander’s sight has been replaced by the HL-80, also from SFIM.

The Leclerc new-generation recovery vehicle has a longer hull with seven pairs of wheels. A hydraulically operated blade at the front of the vehicle is used to clear a path through battlefield obstacles.

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