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Saudi Arabia is interested in Leclerc tank
december 16, 2015 at 12:19
The French shielded the Saudis was presented on 25 November.
Saudi Arabia seeks to acquire new heavy tanks and the French Leclerc is in the running. According to our information, it was even presented to the Saudis on 25 November.
The Saudi army was obviously impressed by the commitment of the UAE Leclerc in the war in Yemen, where they had their baptism of fire, including in urban areas.
The Saudi Defense Ministry would seek to acquire 200 heavy armored vehicles, including 50 "spare" (reserve). Germans, Turks and South Koreans were also solicited by Riyadh.
Problem: Leclerc the production line at Nexter was closed in 2007 after delivery of the last of the 876 armored built for the Army and the United Arab Emirates. One expert dossier considers, however, that given the size of the order, it could be revived, but that the difficulty could come from suppliers and subcontractors. Especially as the Leclerc needs to be modernized: embedded computing its date of early 90s ... For the Army, this modernization is planned but should not occur before 2020. A Saudi contract could accelerate things. A professional of the sector believes it would take almost three years between signing a contract and delivery of the first gear. As for buying used, it is now possible (after the failures in Qatar and Colombia) because the surplus tanks were used as parts inventory seconded from the army.
Facing Leclerc, KMW Germans (now merged with Nexter) offer their Leopard 2 in its latest version (A7), more modern than the current Leclerc. But there still is the problem of the production line. There's more in Germany and the last activity is in Greece ... The Spanish chain is now closed. It was she who had to make the Leopard 2 that Saudi Arabia wanted to buy before the veto of the Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, who recently criticized the policy of Riyadh. If they are technically favorites, Germans are not politically.
As for the Turkish proposals (Altai) and Korean (K2), experts believe that these tanks are not developed.
But Saudi Arabia has a large American tank M1 A2 Abrams park. The Abrams suffers from significant flaws, including the fragility of the turbine and its enormous fuel consumption: in the hot zone, more than 700 liters per 100 kilometers, double the Leclerc tank. His commitment requires considerable logistical train, for refueling and maintenance of turbines, especially in desert regions.
Beyond the heavy tanks, Saudi Arabia needs to renew its fleet armored infantry and artillery. France is in the running to supply guns 155. Until the Gulf War, the United Parks had two tanks: an American (M60) and French (AMX30).
