View source for Leclerc AZUR

{{About
| about = French medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = other versions
| link = Leclerc (Family)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=fr_leclerc_azur
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==
<!-- ''In the description, the first part should be about the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle, as well as its key features. In the second part, tell the reader about the ground vehicle in the game. Insert a screenshot of the vehicle, so that if the novice player does not remember the vehicle by name, he will immediately understand what kind of vehicle the article is talking about.'' -->
The '''Leclerc Action en Zone URbaine (AZUR)''' is an urban warfare modification of the Tropicalized Leclerc, which is the fifth variant of the [[Leclerc (Family)|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 ===
{{Specs-Tank-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.'' -->
''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:''' <!-- The types of armour present on the vehicle and their general locations -->
<!-- Example: * Rolled homogeneous armour (Front, Side, Rear, Hull roof)
* Cast homogeneous armour (Turret, Transmission area) -->

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || ___ mm || ___ mm ''Top'' <br> ___ mm ''Bottom'' || ___ mm || ___ - ___ mm
|-
| Turret || ___ - ___ mm ''Turret front'' <br> ___ mm ''Gun mantlet'' || ___ - ___ mm || ___ - ___ mm || ___ - ___ mm
|-
| Cupola || ___ mm || ___ mm || ___ mm || ___ mm
|-
|}

'''Notes:''' <!-- Any additional notes which the user needs to be aware of -->
<!-- Example: * Suspension wheels are 20 mm thick, tracks are 30 mm thick, and torsion bars are 60 mm thick. -->

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}
<!-- ''Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and manoeuvrability, as well as the maximum speed forwards and backwards.'' -->

{{tankMobility|abMinHp=2,325|rbMinHp=1,327}}

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armaments ==
{{Specs-Tank-Armaments}}
=== Main armament ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|1}}
<!-- ''Give the reader information about the characteristics of the main gun. Assess its effectiveness in a battle based on the reloading speed, ballistics and the power of shells. Do not forget about the flexibility of the fire, that is how quickly the cannon can be aimed at the target, open fire on it and aim at another enemy. Add a link to the main article on the gun: <code><nowiki>{{main|Name of the weapon}}</nowiki></code>. Describe in general terms the ammunition available for the main gun. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage.'' -->
{{main|GIAT CN120-26 F1 (120 mm)}}

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 6-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.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[GIAT CN120-26 F1 (120 mm)|120 mm GIAT CN120-26 F1]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Autoloader
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 40 || rowspan="2" | -8°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | Two-plane || 38.1 || 52.7 || 64.0 || 70.8 || 75.3 || rowspan="2" | 5.00
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 23.8 || 28.0 || 34.0 || 37.6 || 40.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{{:GIAT CN120-26 F1 (120 mm)/Ammunition|OCC 120 G1, OFL 120 G1, OFL 120 F1}}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
<!-- [[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]] -->
<!-- '''Last updated:''' -->
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full<br>ammo
! 1st<br>rack empty
! 2nd<br>rack empty
! 3rd<br>rack empty
! 4th<br>rack empty
! 5th<br>rack empty
! 6th<br>rack empty
! Visual<br>discrepancy
|-
| '''40''' || __&nbsp;''(+__)'' || __&nbsp;''(+__)'' || __&nbsp;''(+__)'' || __&nbsp;''(+__)'' || __&nbsp;''(+__)'' || __&nbsp;''(+__)'' || __
|-
|}

=== Machine guns ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|2}}
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|3}}
<!-- ''Offensive and anti-aircraft machine guns not only allow you to fight some aircraft but also are effective against lightly armoured vehicles. Evaluate machine guns and give recommendations on its use.'' -->
{{main|M2HB (12.7 mm)|A-A-F1N (7.62 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[M2HB (12.7 mm)|12.7 mm M2HB]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 800 (200) || 575 || - || -
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[A-A-F1N (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm A-A-F1N]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Pintle || 2,000 (100) || 900 || -10°/+40° || ±120°
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==
<!-- ''Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).'' -->
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 ===
<!-- ''Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in a bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".'' -->
'''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: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under <code><nowiki>=== In-game description ===</nowiki></code>, also if applicable).'' -->
''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: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under <code><nowiki>=== In-game description ===</nowiki></code>, also if applicable).''

== Media ==
<!-- ''Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.'' -->

;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=fr_leclerc_azur Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

== See also ==
<!-- ''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''
* ''reference to the series of the vehicles;''
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.'' -->

;Related development

* [[Leclerc (Family)]]

== External links ==
<!-- ''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''
* ''topic on the official game forum;''
* ''other literature.'' -->

* [[wt:en/news/8469-development-leclerc-azur-action-in-urban-areas-en|[Devblog] Leclerc AZUR: Action In Urban Areas]]

{{France medium tanks}}