AMX-56 Leclerc (France)
The Leclerc entered French service in 1992 and today there are over 400 serving with the French military and over 350 with the United Arab Emirates. For much of its production run, the Leclerc was the most expensive tank in the world, thanks in large part to the sophisticated systems found on board. The tank is unusual for a Western-designed MBT in that it uses an autoloader. Nonetheless, this autoloader is very fast and can reportedly load up to 12 rounds a minute for the 120mm smoothbore gun. An all-digital fire control system allows the gunner to pick out six targets and engage them all in a little over 30 seconds. Thermal sights and laser range finders all help in identifying and targeting the enemy as far out as four kilometers. Armor on the newest models of this tank includes tungsten and titanium modules and explosive reactive armor modules. All of this sophisticated technology is further protected by laser and missile warning systems, as well as infrared decoys and anti-personnel grenades.
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