Leclerc Main Battle Tank, built by GIAT Industries,
is the main battle tank of the French Army and the army of the UAE.
The latest configuration is the SXXI, which rolled out in 2004. It
uses a stabilized 120mm /52 cal. smoothbore NATO standard gun, with
12.7 mm coaxial machine gun, and 7.62mm machine guns manually
operated from the commander and gunner hatches. (The UAE tanks use
under-armor operations for these weapons) The new panoramic
commander's sight covers 360 deg. with fully stabilized dual
field-of-view thermal imager with an integrated laser rangefinder.
 The gunner's sight was also improved in the SXXI
model and is now provided with a new generation thermal imager,
laser rangefinder and a TV and day channel. The tank is also
equipped with a Thales SIT and ICONE battle management systems and
combat net radio.
A fully automatic loader and ammunition storage is located in the
turret bustle, packed with 22 ready to fire rounds (16 additional
rounds are maintained in storage). MG At a combat weight of 56.5
tons, and height of 2.53 m', (6.88m length, 3.60 m width) Leclerc
can be considered a relatively "compact" platform. It is powered by
a 1,500 hp engine, and has a capacity of 1,300 litres of diesel
fuel,
 sufficient for a range of 550km (with two external 200 lt.
tanks). Maximum road speed is 72 km/h (cross country: 55 km/h). Leclerc can negotiate a vertical obstacle of 1.25 meter and ford 1
m' deep water obstacles (up to 1.9 with preparation). A driver head
panel was added in the recent upgrade.
Leclerc has an advanced modular, multipurpose
armor package which was improved in the current version, as part of
its modular growth potential. It also uses Defensive Aids Suit,
comprising of 2x9 Gallix launcher tubes, capable of firing smoke,
close defense and IR decoy grenades).
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