![]() In 1956, the French government entered a cooperative development program with West Germany and Italy in an effort to design a standardized tank. ![]() Its replacement, the AMX 50, was cancelled in the mid-1950s in favour of adopting the M47 Patton tank. The first, the ARL 44, was an interim tank. It was preceded by two post-war French medium tank designs. Production of the AMX-30 also extended to a number of variants, including the AMX-30D armoured recovery vehicle, the AMX-30R anti-aircraft gun system, a bridge-layer, the Pluton tactical nuclear missile launcher and a surface-to-air missile launcher. In 1979, due to issues caused by the transmission, the French Army began to modernize its fleet of tanks to AMX-30B2 standards, which included a new transmission, an improved engine and the introduction of a new OFL 105 F1 fin-stabilized kinetic energy penetrator. Mobility was provided by the 720 horsepower (540 kW) HS-110 diesel engine, although the troublesome transmission adversely affected the tank's performance. The Obus G used an outer shell, separated from the main charge by ball bearings, to allow the round to be spin stabilized by the gun without spinning the warhead inside which would disrupt jet formation. It had a 105 mm gun, firing a then advanced high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead known as the Obus G. ![]() Protection, instead, was provided by the speed and the compact dimensions of the vehicle, including a height of 2.28 metres. The French believed that it would have required too much armour to protect against the latest anti-tank threats, thereby reducing the tank's maneuverability. The production version of the AMX-30B weighed 36 metric tons (40 short tons), and sacrificed protection for increased mobility. The first five tanks were issued to the 501st RĂ©giment de Chars de Combat (Tank Regiment) in August of that year. ![]() ![]() The AMX-30 is a main battle tank designed by Ateliers de construction d'Issy-les-Moulineaux (AMX, then GIAT) and first delivered to the French Army in August 1966. ![]()
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