28.08.2023

"We need Leclerc 2": the French press calls for the creation of a new tank

Sections: Land, Status and prospects, New development

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Image source: topwar.ru

Official Paris makes the main bet in tank building on the modernization of the Leclerc MBT and the MGCS developed jointly with Germany - the "European tank of the future". However, there are calls to create a new own OBT.

As noted in the Meta-defense publication, the Leclerc 2 project is needed as an interim solution in anticipation of MGCS. Four arguments are given in his favor: meeting the urgent needs of the army, the availability of a universal platform for specialized tracked armored vehicles, expanding the French industrial offer in the international arena and reducing the risk of failure of the MGCS program.

Until recently, the tank was perceived as a morally outdated anachronism. However, the war in Nagorno-Karabakh and the Ukrainian conflict have shown the central role of tanks in ground maneuvers, offensive or defensive: they have retained a unique ability to break through the front, as well as repel enemy attacks

- it is said in the French press, where it is added that Leclerc 2 is needed.

At the moment, the French army has 3 cuirassier regiments, each of which is equipped with about 50 Leclerc, and two armored regiments are armed with a tank company. There are 220 cars in total.

As indicated, the tank market has been experiencing a period of complete calm for almost 20 years, and in the last three years there has been a staggering increase in demand for MBT, including in countries that until recently seriously considered excluding this type of armor from their arsenal.

However, the MGCS joint program with Germany is stalling [due to Berlin's bid for the latest Leopard 2 modifications]:

The deadlines for its implementation [2035] are under threat of disruption. This opens the way to an alternative project, that is, to create a direct successor to Leclerc – Leclerc 2 – similar to the [British] Challenger 2 program

- it is noted in the publication.

Image source: topwar.ru

The new vehicle should be equipped with advanced communication and joint interaction capabilities; a more powerful gun, for example, ASCALON from Nexter with a caliber of 140 mm; new Akeron MP medium-range ATGM; a remotely controlled turret equipped with a small-caliber gun for protection from drones and for urban combat; a built-in protection system, such as a new DZ Prometeus from Nexter; multispectral camouflage, for example, Salamander; hybrid powerplant to increase the autonomy of the tank in combat and give it the ability to move stealthily.

We need to improve the efficiency of MBT based on the technologies currently available. This would make it possible to quickly set up production and put it into operation before the end of the decade

- the author believes.

According to him, as a result, the French defense industry would receive a product that is competitive on the world market in comparison with the South Korean K2 Black Panther, the German KF-51 Panther and the American AbramsX.

At the same time, capacities would be created for the production of MBT for the needs of their own army. The components currently available allow only 70 units to be manufactured, and the Leclerc production line was dismantled at the beginning of the last decade due to the lack of new orders and commercial prospects.

Based on the losses recorded on both sides in Ukraine since the beginning of this war, such a reserve will not allow meeting the long-term requirements of the battlefield, even taking into account joint intervention with the alliance

- the publication says.