- Yes
- No
As of right now, Leclercs are far from being best top tier MBTs:
- Armor is incredibly lacking, with only the Ariete only having worse armour. Survivability is further decreased by the exploding fuel tanks and only 3 crew members, meaning any penetration results in death ;
- Mobility was observed then proven to be actually worse than Leopard 2 despite the weight difference between the 2 because the turbine of the Leclerc’s engine isn’t modelled;
- And of course, firepower is underwhelming: the worst penetration at top tier.
The Leclercs’ only redeeming is the reload, which is still shared by the much more survivable Abrams and Challengers 2 and beaten by the Type 10 / TKX. The myth of the Leclercs being a “jack of all trade” has to end. At least the second part of the idiom is true: the Leclercs are currently masters of none.
As if that wasn’t enough, OFL 120 F1, the Leclerc’s best APFSDS shell, has in fact lower spall than all the other top tier APFSDS rounds…
This is why the Leclercs should get a new shell.
There are 2 solid choices in that regard:
DM53 :
Although Italy never bought DM53 shells for their Arietes, Gaijin decided to give DM53 to the Arietes to try to keep them somewhat relevant at top tier. This obvious balancing decision could definitely be applied to the Leclercs since both Ariete and Leclerc perform similarly.
Fired from the Leclerc’s GIAT CN120-26/52 L/52 cannon, this would result in a muzzle velocity of about 1730m/s and penetration of about 645mm, which is in line with the Leopard 2A6/7AV penetration of 652mm (DM53 round), the Type 10’s penetration of 610mm (Type 10 round) and the Abrams’ penetration of 629mm (M829A3 round).
SHARD :
Another option could be the newly qualified SHARD round.
This round is made by NEXTER, the same company that developed the Leclerc MBTs (it used to be named GIAT).
Courtesy of @Laurelix, when fired from the Leclerc’s GIAT CN120-26/52 L/52 cannon, this round should reach a muzzle velocity of 1720 m/s. Its 775mm long WHA penetrator should result in an estimated penetration of:
720mm @ 0m (0°)
421mm @ 0m (60°)
668mm @ 1000m (0°)
390mm @ 1000m (60°)
So, a 20% penetration increase over OFL 120 F1 at 1km.
Leclercs accelerate slower than Leopard 2s, are as armoured as light tanks all while having only 3 crew members, exploding fuel tanks. Would giving them the most penetrating round make them the most OP vehicle in top tier? The answer is obviously not. The weak spots that would need to be hit would be the same, however Leclercs operators would be able to do so at much longer range with more consistency.
Considering the above, I suggest the following:
- Make the OFL 120 F1 a level 1 modification on the Leclerc S1 and Leclerc S2 (replacing OFL 120 G1), but give these 2 vehicles access to DM53 as a level 4 modification;
- Make the OFL 120 F1 a level 1 modification on the Leclerc S.XXI and Leclerc AZUR (replacing OFL 120 G1), but give these vehicles to SHARD as a level 4 modification.[poll type=regular results=always chartType=bar]
