History
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.[7]
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.[8] 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.[9]
All previous Leclerc batches were to be modernised to Batch 9 standards as of 2005. In 2004, Batch 10 was presented, incorporating a new armour 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.[10]
Main Ground Combat System
In 2015, Nexter Systems merged with German Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), maker of the Leopard 2 tank, to form KMW+Nexter Defense Systems (KNDS),[11] 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).[12] 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.[13][14]
System architecture definition and technology demonstration phase was to be completed by 2024, with production and testing to start in 2028.[15]
