We are on the verge of seeing one of the arguably
greatest periods in the history of tank evolution. I would say at least going back to the development of the LEOPARD 2, ABRAMS M1A2, CHALLENGER 2 and LeClerc.
Possibly even further to LEOPARD and ABRAMS etc. for their time.
It is indeed rare when so many advances are coming together at the same time. I'm talking about weapons, defensive systems, ammo, FCS, Hybrid Powerplants, AI, Unmanned Turrets, C4, BSM and more.
Just in weapons 120mm that can reach out almost 8km w/appropriate ammo.
130/140mm with over the horizon capability. Loitering munitions, who needs a 7.62 or 12.5mm when you can have some combination with either a 20 or 30mm? And you'd rather and as you'll see, forget that previous "mix" and
both the 20mm and 30mm and I believe one will still have a coax 7.63mm. And as noted the ammo. I will have a surprise at the end where I'll provide such information which will keep the 120mm
relevant I would estimate for the
next 15-20yrs.
I've scrapped a couple of the tanks from below since those and the rest because
WE WILL NOT see them.
South Korea: Starting here because it would be considered a light to lower end Med. "tank" based on armor package it's equipped with. I recently posted on this system and while checking back on it the following recent posts below had just "
popped up" I speak of
Clouded Leopard II. It is currently in the
D2 stage of PROTOTYPE testing. Due to design changes the
D3 Prototypes won't be in production until
2025 with the validation of the type not completed until the
end of 2025. So that would make early production models of the
Clouded Leopard II appear until sometime
later in 2026.
A couple of points the 105mm looks
very similar to the Japanese
TYPE 16 MCV for one and the following from the ref.
"...Hunter-Killer capability
similar to that of the
M1A2T tanks acquired from the United States, ..."
The above further explained...
"NCSIST Engineering Deputy Director Colonel Lin Yan-Guang
confirmed that the vehicle has a
Hunter-Killer capability similar to the M1A2T tanks acquired from the U.S. This feature allows simultaneous engagement and continuous target acquisition. The
M1A2 and M1A1 differ in that the older
M1A1 requires the commander and gunner to view the same target, allowing the commander to resume searching
only after engagement.
In contrast, the M1A2 permits the commander to continue searching for new targets while the gunner engages the identified target."
https://www.armyrecognition.com/news...ard-ii-vehicle
U.S.: Another Lgt. to Med. tank the
M 10 BOOKER has started operational testing. This tank has a "
shot" to
possibly make it by
mid 2025 maybe. But it is limited by the opening statement and the following: "This
initial delivery comprises
four production vehicles and
four production retrofit vehicles, which have been modified from their original
XM10 configurations." That's a
long way from filling out several regiments or Brigades as has been the custom of the USA when it comes to armor. And from ref. 2 "Testing at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, will
focus on making sure the platform is
baseline operational, Major General Glenn Dean, programme executive officer for Ground Combat Systems, told reporters on the sidelines of an army live-fire and commemoration event. Training for soldiers will
focus on logistics and new maintenance after the unit receives the vehicles in July, Captain Rachel Ledbetter, company commander of the M10 Booker test detachment, 82nd Airborne Division, told Janes on 18 April."
https://www.armyrecognition.com/news...-at-ft-liberty
https://www.janes.com/osint-insights...anned-for-july
France: This will lead off the Heavy Armor portion. I speck of the
Leclerc Evolution and is armed with the
...ASCALON 120 mm cannon, a cutting-edge weapon system designed to deliver unparalleled firepower and precision." as I noted above, also it has the following, "A
standout feature of the Leclerc Evolution is its
ARX 30 secondary weapon,
specifically designed for counter-UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) warfare.". And finally, it also has the
Escamotable loitering munition launch platform as pictured.
The issue here is it's very early in the developmental stage and then there is this..."
The Leclerc Evolution will likely be shunned by the French army.
Tanks are
not a priority for the Army today, and for good reason. According to the French army itself, tanks are not currently a priority for them. Indeed, as part of the
2024-2030 Military Programming Law (LPM), it must carry out numerous programs, which will be difficult to fully finance. These include the deployment of the Griffon, Serval, and Jaguar vehicles from the
SCORPION program, the design and ordering of the VBAE to replace the VBL, the acquisition of 109 Caesar MkII that must form the backbone of French artillery, as well as the modernization of the Tiger attack helicopters and the introduction of the H-160M Guépard for the Light Aviation of the Army (ALAT)."
And like the French we won't see it.
https://www.armyrecognition.com/news...-evolution-mbt
Germany: At one time I felt and posted that the following
first 2 tanks might have had a chance, but the
2nd fell off for me
about a year ago and I thought until more recently the
1st still had at least a small chance of getting in.
LEOPARD 2A8 everyone wants one and a couple of contracts have been signed from outside Germany notably Hungry. This tank was meant to be a stop gap and the last of the "
traditional" LEOPARD A2 series. Germany has ordered
105 (Remember this number as you read the below.) of these tanks. However again with most of these tanks we won't see it because of the following..."The purchase of the Leopard 2A8 tanks is expected to be carried out under a contract with the defense equipment manufacturer KNDS, and
delivery is scheduled for
between 2027 and 2030. However,
70 units are to be delivered during the
last two years of the contract."
https://www.armyrecognition.com/news...-based-brigade
KF-51 PANTHER: Well they have I believe they have
2 Concept Demonstrators and this tank isn't going anywhere soon because the factory to build it doesn't even exist except on paper. And it'll be located not where you would expect it to be..."On
March 4, 2023, the German newspaper website "Spiegel" published that the German company Rheinmetall is
negotiating the construction of a
tank factory in Ukraine with an investment of €200 million to build the new KF51 Panther Main Battle Tank (MBT)."
https://armyrecognition.com/military...fact-sheet#top
KF-51U And so it continues there is
1 Concept Demonstrator here we up gun... "This
smoothbore gun, designated as the
130mm/L51, offers
superior firepower and lethality compared to the
existing 120mm L55/L55A1 cannons. The increased caliber allows for higher muzzle energy and greater destructive capability, which
translates into a 50% longer effective kill range. This makes the 130mm gun particularly effective against advanced protective systems employed by contemporary armored threats."
https://www.armyrecognition.com/news...h-130mm-cannon
LEOPARD 2 A-RC 3.0: From KNDS Germany, a tank intended to serve as a
transitional Main Battle Tank
before the
Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) becomes
operational in the late 2030s. It will have the same 130mm as the PANTHER and also can be retrofitted to fit the 140mm. It will also feature an
ATGW system similar in design to the
BRADLEY that will have a missile capable of
both LOS and NLOS attacks. However again, "Looking ahead, KNDS Deutschland
aims to showcase a
fully operational demonstrator of the
Leopard 2 A-RC 3.0 by 2026, refining its chassis design based on feedback from potential users such as the German armed forces (Bundeswehr)."
https://www.armyrecognition.com/news...ard-2-a-rc-3-0
I believe Germany might be trying to reach too far with all these variants when you include the fact that they
just opened a plant in the Ukraine to repair their German tanks and other armor. In Germany they are still using a plant to get those
LEOPARD 1A5 tanks of which they (Ukraine) will be getting more of as the number has increased slightly for what was planned a couple of years ago. They'll figure it out I'm sure, however, I feel a couple of the "
near" new tanks will slip by a year or two in the process.
https://www.armyrecognition.com/news...ard-2-a-rc-3-0
UK: I've posted on this tank extensively to date, however like the lead 2 German tanks, I've stopped playing with the numbers for now as the situation hasn't changed from my last posts. I speak of the
CHALLENGER 3. Unlike the
AJAX which we're not hearing anything about and won't make it in, the
CHALLENGER 3 Program is so far moving along and gotten ahead in some areas of development which is why
I was hoping that at least there was a shot in
2026 to get it
entered in the game in the latter half of 2025. It will not happen what've posted recently in the last few months and now shows no change in the
IOC and
FOC dates.
Ref. 1 "
Initial operating capability is expected in
2027, while
full operating capability is scheduled to be reached in
2030."
https://www.army-technology.com/feat...-tank/?cf-view
Ref. 2 "The work was carried out under an £800M contract which was awarded to RBSL in 2021 to deliver 148 upgraded, fully digitalised battle tanks
to the British Army from 2027."
https://www.army.mod.uk/news-and-eve...d-of-schedule/
Ref. 3 This last is as current as you can get. Click on "TRIALS" under "PROGRAMME UPDATES" for the following... "It is
currently forecasted that the
trials will be completed and the
SQR will be reached
during 2026.
The Initial Operating Capability is
forecasted to be in
2027. All 148 Challenger 3's are
planned to be in service by the
end of 2030."
https://www.army.mod.uk/equipment/challenger-3/
It's a
bleak picture but it seems like it falls on me to present this information at time times and I've invested sometime in at least 4 of the above tanks as I kept my "fingers-crossed" at least a couple would make it.
So "
Viva La France! Because we will get one right now and since it's quiet out there, it looks like maybe I got a "
leg up" on this one-maybe!?!
FRANCE/ADD/Leclerc XLR/COPY/Leclerc S2 AZUR/UNIT 034/CHANGE/START JAN 2024/SPEED 23/TI/GSR 60/AMMO 22 RDS/STEEL/HF 75/TF 90/HEAT/HF 125/HS 50/HR 40/TF 175/TR 40. // First the French don't work like other armies they do extensive testing and get the equipment out to the first unit when enough vehicles will fully fit out that combat unit. The
GRIFFON is a perfect example of this process. Alright by the numbers
START based on fact the first 18 operational tanks were assigned to the
501st Combat Tank Regiment (501 RCC, Régiment de Chars de Combat) and arrived in the latter part of 2023, I simply allowed for some Training and Maintenace which I feel is reasonable. Reduced
SPEED by 1 to allow for the fact that this is the
heaviest of the Leclerc tanks designed, this is due to the fact this tank is just shy of
5.5 tons added due to the
armor improvements which was the reason for the
STEEL and
HEAT values. The
AMMO reduction was caused by the fact they
removed the armored Ammo magazine area by the Driver to increase crew safety.
https://www.armyrecognition.com/news...to-french-army
https://www.armyrecognition.com/news...ds-leclerc-xlr
(Describes the MG as the CN 120-26 also it's equipped with the new HE M3M explosive rounds further enhances its versatility, providing impact, delay, and airburst functions.)
https://www.janes.com/osint-insights...w-apfsds-round
(This round is now available. Ref from 2021.)
https://www.janes.com/osint-insights...eclerc-upgrade
(Current tank sights.)
https://armyrecognition.com/military...video-10704171
(Updated Data Sheet from last May.)
JAPAN: We had some discussion out here, now it is official.
JAPAN/CHANGE/TYPE 74/UNITS 019 & 027/END JUN 2024/VICE/DEC 2025. //
The ref. says it all however I left the two engineer types alone as the article focused on "Combat" vice "Support" for engineering units.
https://www.janes.com/osint-insights...-type-74-tanks
If there is any time to address Romania's
TR-85 M1R just got the
first good data from JANE's concerning the upgrades that have been speculated on from sources and reported by me for this tank over the last couple of years or more. Information is from
May 2024.
Poop!! it's late and back to work later today.
Regards,
Pat
