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The Char Leclerc, is a main battle tank (MBT) built by GIAT, now Nexter of France. It was named in honour of General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque who led the French element of the drive towards Paris while in command of the Free French 2nd Armoured Division (''2ème DB'') in World War II. The Leclerc is in service with the French Army and the army of the United Arab Emirates. In production since 1991,〔 the Leclerc entered French service in 1992, replacing the AMX 30 as the country's main armoured platform. With production now complete, the French Army has a total of 406 Leclerc and the United Arab Emirates Army has 388. The price in 2011 was €9.3 million, which made it the most expensive tank in history at the time.〔http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=6442452&c=FEA&s=INT〕 Following the devaluation of the Euro its price fell dramatically, and in 2014 the K2 Black Panther surpassed the Leclerc's price record. ==History== In 1964 studies were initiated about a possible replacement vehicle for the AMX 30: 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 that in 1977 agreed on a list of specifications. In February 1980 however, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed with the Federal Republic of 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''). Importation of foreign equipment, like the M1 Abrams, the Leopard 2, or the Merkava had been studied and rejected.〔Enrico Po, 1990, "The MBT LECLERC: French Armour Enters the 21st Century", ''Military Technology No. 9/90'', pp. 79–86〕 In contrast to most Western programmes of the time, much consideration was given to active, besides passive protection, to limit the overall mass of the vehicle. 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 at the same time protecting against shaped charges.〔"First light on the LECLERC", ''Military Technology No. 4/86'', pp 82–83〕 Partnership with a foreign state was sought to limit the cost per unit, and this was found when the United Arab Emirates ordered 436 vehicles, adding to the 426 units already planned for the French Army. In 1986, the project was started under the name of "Leclerc", six prototypes being built swiftly. 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 were shipped, with improvements in the turret and in the hull armour. These units were diagnosed with problems in the engine and suspension, and were quickly retired. Batch 3 followed with some improvements and have been used to define the doctrine of use, and instruction. Batches 4 and 5 were better built, eliminating the recurrent problems in the powerplant, and are still in service, after having been refitted at the end of the 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 was a modernisation of the electronic system, and Batch 9 replaced the thermal imaging ATHOS by a SAGEM Iris with better resolution. All previous batches will be modernised up to the standards of Batch 9 from 2005. In 2004, Batch 10 was presented, incorporating new information systems which could share the disposition of enemy and friendly units to all vehicles on the battlefield, and a new armor package. This was the beginning of the 96-unit third series. By 2007, 355 tanks should have been operational, 320 of them incorporated in four regiments, each of 80 Leclerc vehicles. , 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 Leclerc in combat ready reserve. Due to finance cuts, only 254 tanks were fully operational in 2011.〔 The four regiments are: * 1er Régiment de Chasseurs stationed near Verdun, part of the 7th Armoured Brigade * 4e Régiment de Dragons stationed in Carnoux-en-Provence, part of the 7th Armoured Brigade * 12e Régiment de Cuirassiers stationed in Olivet, part of the 2nd Armoured Brigade * 501e Régiment de Chars de Combat stationed in Mourmelon-le-Grand, 2nd Armoured Brigade 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「AMX Leclerc」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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