A Leclerc tank at a training ground in Smardan, eastern Romania, January 25, 2023. VADIM GHIRDA / AP
The question arose very quickly after the announcement on Wednesday, January 25, of sending German Leopard tanks and American Abrams to Ukraine: will France follow the movement and, in turn, supply modern heavy tanks to the Kyiv forces? Will the Army agree to part with some of the 226 Leclercs it has? Or will it be content to send AMX10-RC, a wheeled light tank that is gradually being phased out, as announced by Emmanuel Macron on January 4th?
Also read: Article reserved for our subscribers War in Ukraine: Kiev’s allies decide to supply heavy tanks to the country
Officially, “talks” have been going on between Paris and Kyiv for several weeks about the advisability of supplying Leclercs to the Ukrainian armed forces, without a final decision being made. According to Elysée, the issue was raised again by the President of the Republic during a phone call on Tuesday, January 24 with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “Discussions between French and Ukrainian experts are ongoing, in particular to assess the cost-benefit ratio of such a delivery,” explains an official source, ruling out the hypothesis of a quick delivery.
A battle tank is not a material like the others. As the spearhead of armies, it is the only land machine that combines mobility (with its tracks), protection (with its armor) and firepower (with its 120mm gun). “A Leclerc can travel at speeds of up to 80 km/h, destroy a target up to 4,000 meters away by shifting while protecting its crew from enemy fire,” lists Colonel Alexandre de Féligonde, commander of the 1er régiment de chasseurs (1er RCh) de Verdun, commanding the squadron of thirteen Leclerc tanks that France sent to Romania after invading Ukraine to ensure the defense of Europe’s eastern flank.
Also read: Article reserved for our subscribers War in Ukraine: in Romania, the Leclerc tanks used by France return to the field
The only problem is that these steel monsters, which weigh more than 50 tons, are “just as robust as they are fragile,” acknowledges a military source. We often forget that a modern tank requires a very significant logistical support when deployed. To supply it with fuel and ammunition, but above all to ensure its maintenance. When one tank rolls, two are immobilized, mechanized cavalry specialists usually say. In Romania, around 200 men from the 1er RCh, accompanied by two recovery tanks, were deployed to finish off the handful of Leclercs. Forgetting this, Moscow lost dozens of units at the beginning of its offensive in Ukraine: part of the Russian T-72 and T-80, which had to attack Kyiv without support, had to be abandoned by their crews because they ran out of fuel or simply unable to help them.
You still have 53.4% of this article to read. The following is for subscribers only.