Leclerc танкы: Құрылысы, қасиеттері және жаңартулары

| armour = modular composite armor SXXI version include titanium and semi reactive layers. | primary armament = GIAT CN120 26/52 120mm tank gun
| fuel capacity = 1300 litres (1700 with fuel drums)
| suspension = hydropneumatic
| clearance =
| speed =
| pw ratio = 27.52 hp/tonne 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. 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 of protection would also protect against shaped charges. Partnership with a foreign state was sought to limit unit cost, and found when the UAE ordered 436 vehicles, adding to the 426 units already planned for the French Army. In 1986, the project was started under the name "Leclerc", and six prototypes were swiftly built. 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 shipped with turret and hull armour improvements, but were diagnosed with engine and suspension problems and quickly retired. Batch 3 followed with further improvements and used to define the doctrine of use as well as instruction. Batches 4 and 5 were better built, eliminating recurring powerplant problems, and are still in service after having been refitted in the late 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 units had a modernised electronic system, and Batch 9 replaced the ATHOS thermal imaging with a SAGEM Iris providing better resolution. In 2003, the Greek army sought to acquire a new tank and tested the T 80U, T 84, Leclerc, M1A2 Abrams, Challenger 2E and Leopard 2A5. The Leclerc received a perfect score at the firing range, with 20 rounds fired from 1500 and at 2000 m away. Its hunter kill test performance was weaker, with the Leclerc scoring 13 out of 20, compared with 17 for the Leopard. Both the Leclerc and Leopard sustained a nine round per minute firing rate, higher than those of the other tanks. The Leclerc achieved a 500 km range, higher than the others. But price tags seemed to be a determining factor and the Greek Army selected the Leopard. All previous Leclerc batches were to be modernised to Batch 9 standards as of 2005. In 2004, Batch 10 was presented, incorporating a new armor package and information systems that could share the location of enemy and friendly units with all vehicles on the battlefield. This was the beginning of the 96 unit third series. By 2007, 355 tanks were to have been operational, 320 of them incorporated in four regiments, each with 80 Leclercs. as of 2010, 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 financial cuts, only 254 tanks were fully operational in 2011.

In 2015, Nexter Systems merged with German Krauss Maffei Wegmann (KMW), maker of the Leopard 2 tank, to form KMW+Nexter Defense Systems (KNDS), and the German Ministry of Defence announced plans to develop a new tank jointly with France as a successor to both the Leopard 2 and Leclerc tanks, named Main Ground Combat System (MGCS). At the 2018 Eurosatory, KNDS presented a technology demonstrator tank combining the hull of a Leopard 2A7 with the lighter, two man turret of a Leclerc. System architecture definition and technology demonstration phase was to be completed by 2024, with production and testing to start in 2028.

In September 2018, Der Spiegel reported that an intermediary in the $3 billion plus UAE tank sale was paid a commission of nearly US$200 million, and that part of the sum may have been used to bribe government officials.

The Leclerc is armed with a 120 mm version F1 smoothbore gun designed by the arsenal of Bourges (EFAB) under the designation of CN120 26. Its barrel is 52 calibres long instead of the 44 calibre common on most main battle tanks of its generation,

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. on which removable composite armor modules are mounted. Twelve modules surround the turret (six per side); they are numbered 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 30 mm armor piercing rounds and shoulder fired anti tank weapon such as the RPG 7. The technical approach consisted of replacing the passive composite modules protecting both sides of the turret bustle with lighter, reactive modules, incorporating semi reactive layers. This weight saving measure allowed the use of titanium in the ballistic protection of the turret frontal arc. It also shifted the center of gravity towards the front of the turret, closer to the traverse axis, facilitating the dynamic laying of the turret drives. Block 10 and 11 (T10 and T11) Leclerc SXXI tanks are recognizable by their add on ceramic armor plates bolted on the top of the reactive modules, protecting both sides of the autoloader compartment.

The Leclerc has an eight cylinder SACM (now Wärtsilä) V8X 1500 1,500 hp Hyperbar diesel engine and a SESM (now 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 (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 small 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. For comparison, the turbocharged diesel engine in a typical passenger car has a mean effective pressure of about 20 bar. In addition, with boost available even when idling, this arrangement also works as an antilag system. With a combat weight of 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 Western tanks (27 hp per ton) 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 Leclerc. Transmission is hydromechanical, 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 hull, though they have to be jettisoned before entering combat because they limit turret rotation. The gearbox is equipped with a hydrokinetic retarder, which can slow the Leclerc down at a deceleration rate of 7 m/s2 (0.7 g) which is automatically used over 30 km/h.

Leclerc PTG (Poseur de Travure du Génie): proposed bridgelayer variant developed in 1996, no prototypes were built. Leclerc 'Flakpanzer' SPAAG: Early 1990s proposal of a Leclerc fitted with a turret derived from that of the German Flakpanzer Gepard. It was imagined as armed with twin 35 mm Oerlikon KDA autocannons and two twin pack Mistral SAM launchers (total of four ready missiles). 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. 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 (CTWS) as well as grenade launchers, along with provision for two side mounted anti tank missiles.

In October 2021, in an attempt to win an argument in the official forums of the war simulation game War Thunder, a crewman allegedly leaked excerpts of the tank's classified manual. Forum moderators quickly removed the documents from their website, stating that they could not use the said classified documents due to legal problems that would ensue. A similar incident had occurred in July 2021, when excerpts of the Challenger 2 tank's Army Equipment Support Publication (i. e. user manual), containing technical specifications of the vehicle, were posted on the official forums of the game by a UK tank commander, in a similar attempt to improve the capabilities and accuracy of the vehicle in the video game.

Description Leclerc Série 1Leclerc Série 2Leclerc Série XXITropicalized LeclercProduced 132 178 96 388Date 1992–1996 1997 2003 2003 2008 1994 – early 2000sBatch T1 to T5 T6 to T9 T10 to T11 Not applicableCrew 3Combat weight 54.5 t 56.3 t 57.6 t 57 tHull weight 36 t 37 t 37.5 t Turret weight 18.5 t 19 t 20.5 t xGunner sight HL 60 HL 130 HL 60Commander panoramic sight HL 70 HL 120 HL 80Engine SACM V8X Hyperbar 8 cylinder diesel engine MTU MT 883 Ka 500 12 cylinder diesel engineEngine displacement 16,470 cm3 27,361 cm3Forced induction ratio 7.8 3Power output 1500 hp (1,118 kW) at 2500 RPM 1500 hp (1,118 kW) at 2700 RPMMaximum torque 4850 Nm at 1700 RPM 4545 Nm at 2000 RPMAcceleration from 0–32 km/h (0–20 mph) 5 seconds 5.5 seconds 6 secondsTransmission SESM ESM 500 Renk HSWL 295 TMSuspension system 12 SAMM ESO twin cylinder oleopneumatic suspensionTracks V2 (aluminium alloy) V5 (steel) V2, V5 and Diehl 570 Maximum speed 71 km/h (backwards 38 km/h)Fuel capacity 1,300 liters (up to 1700 liters with external fuel drums) 1,420 liters (up to 1820 liters with external fuel drums)Hull length 6.88 m 7.03 mWidth 3.43 m (3.60 m with ballistic side skirts and 3.71 m with side view mirrors)Height 2.53 m (turret roof)Ground clearance 500 mmWading depth without preparation 1.1 mWading depth with snorkel 4 m Not applicableTrench passability 3 mClimbing ability 1.1 mTurret rotation time (360°) 12 seconds 9 seconds 12 seconds

: In January 2022 Nexter officials were contacted by India on participating in the Future Ready Combat Vehicle program with the proposal of the Leclerc XLR MBT. : In April 2022 talks were held between Nexter representatives and Croatian delegation about possible acquisition of Leclerc XLR tanks for Croatian Army. : In January 2023, French President Macron stated that he was considering sending Leclerc tanks to the Ukrainian Ground Forces.