Leclerc AZUR

This page is about the French medium tank Leclerc AZUR. For other versions, see Leclerc (Family).

Leclerc AZUR

Leclerc AZUR

Description

The Leclerc Action en Zone URbaine (AZUR) is an urban warfare modification of the Tropicalized Leclerc, which is the fifth variant of the Leclerc main battle tank family. The Tropicalized Leclerc variant is predominantly employed by the UAE Army and has various enhancements that improve its capacity to fight in humid tropical and scorching desert environments. The tank is powered by a EuroPowerPack 1,100 kW MT883 diesel engine manufactured by the German MTU Friedrichshafen company, as the UAE has an interest in the company and wants the engine produced by them. The fuel capacity has also increased. An externally mounted diesel auxiliary power unit with a tank infantry telephone is installed on its armoured box. On the left side of the hull, an engine-driven mechanical heavy-duty air conditioner is also installed. The commander sights have been customized to include an HL-80 commander panoramic sight, Alis thermal imaging equipment, and a laser rangefinder. An Armement Télé-Opéré remote-controlled weapon station with a 7.62 mm FN MAG light machine gun operated under-armour by the HL-80 panoramic sight is also placed on the roof of the turret. All of these enhancements are completed by the AZUR urban warfare add-on armour kit, which principally comprises explosive-reactive armour (ERA) blocks on the tank's flanks and slat armour shielding the engine.

Introduced in Update "Sons of Attila", the Leclerc Action en Zone URbaine (AZUR) incorporates further enhancements over earlier variants. Protection against high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warheads from enemies is greatly enhanced with AZUR ERA blocks around the tank's sides and slat armour around the engine. However, such ERA blocks provide little protection against typical armour-piercing fin-stabilised discarding sabot (APFSDS) fired from enemy tanks, making it necessary to be vigilant during engagements. Since the new armour package increased the vehicle's overall combat weight, its manoeuvrability is slightly slower.

General info

Survivability and armour

Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat? If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.

Armour type:

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	___ mm	___ mm Top ___ mm Bottom	___ mm	___ - ___ mm
Turret	___ - ___ mm Turret front ___ mm Gun mantlet	___ - ___ mm	___ - ___ mm	___ - ___ mm
Cupola	___ mm	___ mm	___ mm	___ mm

Notes:

Mobility

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade				2,325			__.__
Realistic				1,327			__.__

Armaments

Main armament

The Leclerc AZUR mounts a 120 mm GIAT CN120-26/52 smoothbore cannon, fitted with a two-plane stabilizer and an autoloading system. The CN120 is a competitive cannon, displaying excellent performance with the OFL 120 F1 APFSDS round, up to a maximum of 575 mm of penetration at 0°. Combined with the consistent 5-second reload (independent of crew), this 120 mm cannon is more than competitive when compared to the offerings on its contemporaries. However, it's important to note that the OFL 120 F1 round is a tier 4 modification, and as such a stock Leclerc will be required to use the OCC 120 G1 HEAT-FS round - which, while capable, can prove somewhat unreliable when used against late vehicles with ERA and composite armour.

120 mm GIAT CN120-26 F1					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Autoloader
Arcade	40	-8°/+20°	±180°	Two-plane	38.1	52.7	64.0	70.8	75.3	5.00
Realistic					23.8	28.0	34.0	37.6	40.0

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
OCC 120 G1	HEATFS	480	480	480	480	480	480
OFL 120 G1	APFSDS	425	423	417	410	404	396
OFL 120 F1	APFSDS	575	573	565	557	547	537

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
OCC 120 G1	HEATFS	1,100	14.4	0.05	0.1	2.15	65°	72°	77°
OFL 120 G1	APFSDS	1,780	3.8	-	-	-	78°	80°	81°
OFL 120 F1	APFSDS	1,790	3.8	-	-	-	78°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
40	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__

Machine guns

12.7 mm M2HB
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	800 (200)	575	-	-

7.62 mm A-A-F1N
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Pintle	2,000 (100)	900	-10°/+40°	±120°

Usage in battles

As with other Leclerc MBTs, the AZUR will want to exploit its high top speed and short reload time to quickly dispatch enemies from unexpected positions. While the AZUR armour kit offers more side protection than any other Leclerc, its ERA sideskirts will not offer much protection against the APFSDS rounds or tandem charge missiles that are extremely common at its BR and as such should be considered more of a safety net than a real defense strategy. Although you maintain the edge on reload speed over every other MBT besides Type 10s, Challenger 2s, and M1 Abrams (the latter two require aced crews to be equal with you), attempting to brawl in the Leclerc is not advised due to its large weakspots requiring minimal aim from your opponent. The best strategy in the Leclerc is to use your high mobility to obtain a strong firing position early in the match and your decent optics and quick reload speed to locate and destroy targets while presenting as little opportunities for counter fire as possible.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• High top speed
• Thickest side armour of any Leclerc with AZUR ERA protecting the crew compartment
• Cage armour protecting the engine compartment
• Well hidden and quick autoloader
• Can take 22 rounds of ammo without utilizing hull ammo racks
• Roof-mounted machine gun can offer defense against low flying threats

Cons:

• Doesn't feature the improved turret armour found on the Leclerc SXXI
• Large frontal weak spots leave the tank vulnerable to even higher penetrating autocannons
• Even the thickest parts of the armour struggles to stop most top-tier APFSDS round at close range
• Heaviest of all the Leclercs
• Only three crewmen limits survivability

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Leclerc AZUR from live.warthunder.com.

See also

Related development

• Leclerc (Family)

External links

• [Devblog] Leclerc AZUR: Action In Urban Areas