A French arms manufacturer Nexter was awarded a contract to upgrade another batch of Leclerc tanks for the French military.

On December 29, 2022, the Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) notified the company of an order to upgrade 50 updated Leclerc tanks to the XLR level.

The new agreement with Nexter was an extension of the previous contract, which was concluded in June 2021. It also covered the upgrade of 50 Leclerc tanks.

The first prototype of the Leclerc XLR tank was delivered to the DGA in late 2022.

The first 18 upgraded units will be transferred to the French Armed Forces in 2023. The parties indicated this date in the contract back in June 2021.

In total, the plan is to update 200 tanks through this program.

With the upgrade, Leclerc tanks will be equipped with an updated fire control system and new electronics. This will help them interact qualitatively with new combat vehicles in the battle environment.

As part of the update, Leclerc tanks will receive new armor and protection against high-explosive anti-tank projectiles for the engine compartment and part of the turret.

Protection against improvised explosive devices and missiles will be improved. The tank will be equipped with systems to counteract remotely controlled explosive devices.

During the modernization, a remote-controlled 7.62 mm machine gun, manufactured by the Belgian company FN Herstal, will be installed on the Leclerc turret.

The updated tanks will also be equipped with the SCORPION Information Command System (SICS).

AMX-56 Leclerc is the main battle tank of the French military. It was developed in the 80s, and mass production of this model began in 1990 by the Nexter group. In total, approximately 900 combat vehicles were manufactured, almost half of which were exported to the United Arab Emirates.