The First French Army’s Tactical Group to receive 51 Leclerc XLR Tanks By The End of 2025
According to the French Army, it will be possible to equip a first Combined Arms Tactical Group (GTIA) with 51 Leclerc tanks upgraded to the XLR standard by the end of this year, despite the fact that the 2024–30 Military Programming Law has set a target of 160 units by 2030 and 40 more by 2035.
The Leclerc XLR tanks currently being delivered by KNDS France to the French Army do not yet have all the features planned when their modernization was launched by the Directorate General of Armament (DGA). Although they are equipped with the necessary equipment for collaborative combat (SCORPION combat information system, CONTACT radio), a 7.62 mm remote-controlled weapon station, and the BARAGE jammer to enhance protection against improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the tanks are missing PASEO sights, which were only ordered from Safran Electronics & Defense in February 2024.
Last month, KNDS France announced that the DGA had just notified another contract for PASEO sights to the temporary consortium it has formed with Safran: "The Modernization of the renovated main battle tank Leclerc sights (MODVIS) industry cluster has just been notified by the @DGA of the integration of advanced observation functions on the Commander sight. Based on Safran’s artificial intelligence, these functions significantly improve surveillance, detection, and target classification capabilities. The MODVIS cluster, for which we are acting as co-contractor with @Safran Electronics & Defense, aims to improve the performance of the tank’s sights (gunner sight and commander sight), in particular by replacing the commander sight with a PASEO sight from the Safran Electronics & Defense range."
PASEO – digital gunner and tank commander sights
The French Army’s Future Combat Command (CCF) reiterated this announcement, explaining that the improvement in fire control with the digital gunner and tank commander sights called PASEO would be the main innovation of the Leclerc XLR program, thanks to the contribution of AI. "A true incremental innovation, the integration of AI will provide better observation and detection performance for the Leclerc tank crew," insisted the CCF. According to the explanations provided by the CCF the AI integrated into the PASEO sight will improve (or provide) four features. The Future Combat Command is the French Army’s reference point for innovation in all its dimensions in order to face the challenges of tomorrow’s combat: quickly identifying innovation, testing it, formalizing it, and facilitating its adoption by soldiers. Reporting to the Chief of Staff of the Army (CEMAT), the CCF is one of the French Army’s major commands.
Thanks to the landscape scan mode for a specific sector, automatic surveillance will be possible, allowing the tank commander to focus on other tasks. The AI will help the crew detect targets and, above all, identify them more accurately, as they will appear surrounded by different colors in the sight depending on their category (infantry, wheeled vehicles, tanks, etc.). The final feature is that the AI will correct images that may be distorted by atmospheric turbulence. "The PASEO sight will thus provide heavy cavalry units with a modern and innovative operational capability," concluded the CCF. For the time being, PASEO is being tested by the Army Technical Section (STAT). The first units will not be delivered before 2028.
Leclerc XLR MBT
On December 24, 2024, the French Defense Procurement Agency (DGA) ordered the refurbishment of 100 Leclerc tanks (XLR), bringing the total number of refurbished tanks ordered to 200 (50 were ordered in 2021 and 50 in 2022). On December 10, 2024, the DGA also delivered the 34th refurbished XLR tank to the Army, including 21 for 2024. The refurbished Leclerc tanks are equipped with capabilities enabling them to share tactical information in real time with other vehicles in the SCORPION military program (Griffon, Jaguar, and Serval; The Scorpion program is designed to renew and modernize the French Army’s close combat capabilities with modern, interconnected armored vehicles capable of collaborative combat through near real-time data exchange): vetronics and the SCORPION combat information system (SICS), CONTACT software-defined radio, and GPS.
The Leclerc Main Battle Tank entered service in 1993 and has been deployed in various theaters of operation. The Leclerc tank is a third-generation combat vehicle in the 60-ton class. Its crew consists of three operators (the tank commander, the gunner, and the driver) and it has an automatic loading system. It is armed with a CN120-26 120 mm/52 gun and is capable of firing on the move at fixed or moving targets at a range of up to 4,000 meters. The entire ammunition supply of 22 shells is stored in the automatic loading system installed in the rear of the turret. The additional ammunition stored in the chassis to the right of the driver is removed to improve the vehicle’s survivability.
The Leclerc XLR’s protection is reinforced by the addition of extra armor on the sides of the hull over three-quarters of its length. Mine protection is improved with the reinforcement of the floor. The tanks benefit from enhanced protection against improvised explosive devices, mines and rockets thanks to the BARAGE jammer and new overprotection kits (ventral and lateral). Their capabilities have also been enhanced through the development of a new fire control system (capable of firing new ammunition) and the integration of a remote-controlled turret kit developed by the Franco-Belgian military partnership CaMo (Capacité Motorisée).
