I would like to suggest a pretty natural successor to the AMX 30B2, the AMX 30C2
The AMX 30C2 was an alternative development to the Giat leclerc offered for France and also for other countries using the AMX 30. the vehicle was developed in 1990 and offered a rather significant upgrade to the existing AMX 30B2 without being too heavy. the improvement features notably a gyro-stabilizer for the gun which gives the tank a much better offensive capacity, a new fire-control, reinforced suspension, a new ZF LSG 3000 automatic transmission, a new engine, and the tank also got a new thermal sight. all together this made the tank have quite an update.
the test was successful and the tank was ready for production. however, the upcoming introduction of the Leclerc was almost ready for production making the AMX 30C2 an upgrade that came too late. the AMX 30 was been about to retire from the French army and so the upgrade was an expense that was just not needed. the demonstrator is currently exposed at the Saumur Tank Museum
Firepower
the main improvement of the tank is the stabilizer. the stabilizer is who stabilizes the turret and the sight. the fire control was also improved to allow fire on the move. the armament retained is the 105mm CN-105-F1 which is the same armament as used in the AMX 30B2 but as it was built in 1990, it should have access to every single round available for this gun which allows the tank to have a decent buff of firepower as well. the tank has in his option a thermal for the gunner sight and commander. otherwise, it only has the laser rangefinder and night vision like the AMX 30B2. in the photo it was removed as those are from the museum, but the tank also retains the 20mm auto-cannon next to the gun.
Mobility
the mobility of this tank will be fairly improved. Getting an improved HS 110-2 mk E9 providing 850 hp to replace the 620-680-720 engine of the previous model, will be faster to accelerate. the tank also receives the ZF LSG 3000 automatic transmission. this transmission is the same as found on the early AMX 40 and comes with a torque converter which makes it have 8 forward and 4 reverse speeds. it will give a better top speed and lower reverse speed but the reverse speed remains pretty good. the tank will feel much more mobile than the average MBT it will encounter and will seem as mobile as the 3rd generation MBT such as the Leclerc and Leopard 2. Weighting 37 tonnes, it remains fairly light for an MBT.
Protection
the protection is not any better than the AMX 30B2. it will feature the same level of protection as any AMX 30. the armour is the same and it has no improvement in this aspect. in several it is alright but it will be comparable with other tanks that will start to feature advanced armour such as the ERA, spaced and composite armour. the crew of 4 men is standard amounts to the AMX 30. the tank would normally feature a smoke launcher but it does not appear on the pictures.
I am still surprised France didn’t get more stabilised vehicles between 9.0 - 10.3 BR ranges. France really needs vehicles around these BR ranges and the only stabilised AMX-30 we have right now is Premium!
i found some useful pictures of the OFL 105 G2. it allows a decently accurate pixel count on which I can base the estimation of the dimension
for the OFL 105 G2 (Vo 1,525 m/sec)
total length = 655 mm
penetrator length = 600 mm
Frustum length = 65 mm
projectile caliber = 26 mm
penetration = 408 mm
perforation = 562 mm
for the OFL 105 G3 (same dimension as the G2 but with Vo 1,490 m/sec)
penetration = 395 mm
perforation = 547 mm
this decently aligns with the reported performance from Giat
some reported the OFL 105 G2 was introduced to the French army in 1993 but the round was available in 1987. that means the AMX 30C2 would have those rounds. the OFL 105 G3 is the same projectile as the OFL 105 G2 but with a weaker propelling charge (probably to reduce the cost)
the Vetrax was supposed to get the OFL 105 F2 too. we had a discussion about it with some of the dev and moderators. the decision was made not to give it for balance purposes. they want to keep the Vetrax at the current BR and not have it without a line-up. this is very likely going to change in the future once there is a proper line-up or if it turn out the Vextra is over performing (I keep hearing people dropping nuke with it so it’s possible the BR need to be reviewed anyway)
but it turns out that people mostly used it with the Leclerc starting at 11.7. much higher BR than the Vextra. the OFL 105 F1 is not great at this BR but it still can do.
personally, I would also give the OFL 105 G2 & F2 to the AMX 30B2 Brenus. it would allow it to have a slightly higher BR. The addition of the AMX 30C2 should allow a BR above 9.3 for the AMX 30 series with the same ammunition as the AMX 30B2 Brenus. the addition of the MSC would give an option for the BR between 11.7 and 10.0 which allows the Vextra to close the gap in a proper BR with proper ammunition.
We just need the AMX 10rc late that is stabilized plus the AMX 30c and 9.3 would be goated for France, not sure why we got wait so long, also give the AMX 32 105 the 400 pen round how is the same br as the 120
France does have a decent number of MBTs to offer with the guns, stabilizer, and ammunition available indicated according to the period the vehicle was active.
Awesome list thanks for compiling it, got to see some cool vehicles I am not sure if the AMX 30E should be included I know it spanish variant and I am not 100% sure if it was stabilized as well
Only 3 production variants of the AMX-30E (AMX-30E, AMX-30EM1 and EM2), none had stabiliser, although it’s strangely widely claimed online the EM2 does. I might be doing a suggestion for the EM2 soon-ish, and all the solid information I have says no stabiliser (including crew anecdotes). There were a few prototypes though with various different engines and transmissions.
i only listed those who are 100% sure to end up in the French tech tree as there is no one else who used it or the other who used it had equal claim (except the super AMX 30 which should not have been considered a French variant but it’s in the tech tree already)
but the French do have a handful of stabilized AMX 30. some with the new engine & transmission and rounds, others without it. despite not having put them in services, the did have considered the rangefinder and built some prototype.
If this is a real thing then it’s a perfect filler for France at 9.0, and imho AMX32(105) should also be lowered to this BR.
Gunner thermal gen1 + F1 round = 9.0
Gunner + Commander thermal + F2 round = 9.3
Something like that.
