Breaking news
Nexter Systems to perform renovation of Leclerc Main Battle Tank MBT of the French Army.
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Defence & Security News - France
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| Nexter Systems to perform renovation of Leclerc Main Battle Tank MBT of the French Army. | |||
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The French Army Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) notified Nexter Systems of the Leclerc tank renovation contract. This order constitutes the third operation launched by the French Ministry of Defence under the SCORPION programme intended to modernise the French Army's contact forces.
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 French-made MBT Leclerc of French Army |
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Valued at approximately €330 million, the contract provides for the delivery of 200 "Renovated Leclerc" tanks and 18 "Renovated DCL" recovery vehicles from 2020.
The planned renovation work will enable the MBT Leclerc to make the best use of its fire power and mobility within future "SCORPION" joint tactical groups (GTIA). Thanks to the development of specific interfaces for the new CONTACT tactical radio system and the SCORPION information and command system (SICS), it will be able to effectively network with all components of future "SCORPION" GTIAs. Moreover, the upgrade of its protection through the development of specific armour kits will enable the Leclerc tank to deal more effectively with new threats, such as improvised explosive devices. A 3rd generation tank with a high degree of automation and diagnostic assistance, the Leclerc tank currently gives the French land forces "first entry" capability as part of an international coalition. The renovation operation launched aims to maintain this capacity beyond 2040. The Leclerc is the standard main battle tank (MBT) of the French Army which is enters in service with the French Armed Forces in 1992. The Leclerc is also used by the Army of United Arab Emirates. The Leclerc MBT is armed with 120mm 52-calibre smoothbore gun which is fitted with a thermal sleeve and muzzle reference system. The tank has an automatic loading system, which allows cross-country fire-on-the-move against mobile targets. 22 rounds of ready-to-use ammunition are carried. The tank is also armed with a 12.7mm machine gun co-axial with the main gun and a roof-mounted 7.62mm anti-aircraft gun. |
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 French-made Leclerc main battle tank of UAE Army at IDEX 2015, defense exhibition in Abu Dhabi. |
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