Europe 1 with AFP 2:29 p.m., January 12, 2023
The industrialist Nexter announced Thursday that the French Ministry of the Armed Forces had placed an order for 50 additional renovated Leclerc tanks as part of the mid-life modernization of 200 machines.
The Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) notified the contract on December 29, but the amount was not specified.
The French Ministry of the Armed Forces has placed an order for 50 additional renovated Leclerc tanks as part of the mid-life modernization of 200 vehicles, the industrialist Nexter announced on Thursday.
The General Directorate of Armaments (DGA) notified the contract on December 29, says the heir to Giat industries in a press release.
The amount of the contract was not specified.
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A first order for 50 Leclerc XLR tanks was placed in 2021. The first 18 series copies are to be delivered to the Army this year, a first prototype tank having been delivered to the DGA at the end of 2022, according to Nexter.
Ukraine asks, in vain
A 56-ton battle tank for the French army, the Leclerc has a gun with a range of 4,000 meters and can fire up to six shells per minute while rolling.
Ukraine has expressed the wish - so far not granted - to receive them to deal with the Russian invasion, just like other machines of the same category, in particular the German Leopard 2s or the American Abrams.
In service since 1993, the Leclerc has not been produced since 2008. It has been deployed in recent years in Lebanon, Estonia and Lithuania.
13 copies have been in Romania since November to reinforce the defense of NATO's eastern flank.
It is also in service with the armies of the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
The modernization of the Leclerc includes the treatment of obsolescence of its engine, the reinforcement of its protection by an additional shielding of its floor against explosive devices and its sides or the addition of "a remotely operated cupola of 7.62 mm " , that is, a machine gun controlled from inside the tank.
It will also be equipped with a new Scorpion combat information system and a high-speed radio system allowing its integration into a "collaborative combat" system, where all soldiers and equipment are networked to multiply their force. .