Perhaps the most successful post-war French armored vehicle design, the AMX-30 main battle tank was designed by GIAT Industries with a focus on good firepower and superior mobility. In addition, it was designed to be able to operate with minimal support services. The downside of the design was the limited armor protection, unable to protect the tank against contemporary main battle tank weapons of NATO or the Warsaw Pact.

Design features included a fully sealed hull, allowing operations in nuclear, chemical, and biological contamination areas. The tank is also capable of fording water up to 2m in depth. The armor is made of rolled plates and castings, completely welded. The turret is entirely cast and highly shaped for maximum protection.

History

The AMX design was the result of French specifications for a new main battle tank to replace aging American tanks in French service since the end of World War II. Like the Germans during the same period, the French subscribed to the theory that even the heaviest armor would prove unable to keep up with rapid development of anti-tank weaponry, and that the best way to protect tanks within a reasonable design was to enhance their maneuverability. Thus the design solution was a tank with less heavy armor, but greater speed and an accurate powerful weapon that would allow quick destruction of the enemy.

An additional design requirement, as with most French military designs, was for the design to be able to attract wide export markets, as French weapon design relied heavily on foreign sales for financing. The AMX-30 was successful in this regard, being widely exported in many versions.

The design has been supplanted in France by the Leclerc, but is still in world-wide use. In addition to the more than 2,000 tanks produced, more than 1,000 chassis were used as the basis for a range of self-propelled artillery and other derivitaves.

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