AMX-30B2 BRENUS

AMX-30B2 BRENUS

AMX-30B2

Leclerc

AMX-30B2 BRENUS

AMX-30B2

Leclerc

France

VI Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
8.7	8.7	8.7

Class:

Medium tank

Research:94 000

Purchase:520 000

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This page is about the medium tank AMX-30B2 BRENUS. For other uses, see AMX-30 (Family).

Description

The AMX-30B2 BRENUS is a Rank VI French medium tank with a battle rating of 8.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.77 "Advancing Storm". The AMX-30B2 BRENUS, or Brennus in some sources, was a modernized French MBT which saw combat in the Gulf War.

General info

Survivability and armour

The AMX-30B2 has a complex array of armour plates in addition of the ERA.

The frontal glacis is in two parts, the upper area that is 50mm RHA sloped at 76 degrees and the lower one being 79mm CHA sloped at roughly 70 degrees. The lower part of the front glacis is, in theory, able to withstand the T-54 APCBC shell better than the Leopard does. However, shots contacting the upper part will often resulting the shot bouncing upward and penetrating the turret front, which is very weak (even the M18 GMC can penetrate it with ease). The lower glacis plate is not as strong since it is not sloped as much as the front plate, but penetrating this plate will often not result in a colossal damage. However, the curve joint between the upper and the lower glacis plate is very weak and often a penetration through this area will end with a one-shot.

Also, it is noted that there is a fuel container in the front of the tank protecting the ammo rack, which sometimes penetrating rounds will just set a fire just like the T-54 does. The difference is that AMX-30 tank's first stage ammo rack is the turret rack, so after experiencing prolonged combat, the hull ammo rack will be emptied and left defused. The hull sides and rears are very weak, they are all 30mm plates. Even anti-aircraft vehicles doing side shots will penetrate this tank fast (for example, the R3 T20 FA-HS at BR 3.7 for Italy).

The turret armour is not sufficient at this rank, nor at any rank from even rank IV upwards. The gun shield itself mostly offers a 60mm-100mm protection. However, some sabot shots will get absorbed by the breech, which actually offers better protection in the AMX-30B2 than the Leopard 1 does. Shooting the turret ring will damage the turret drives, and can sometimes trigger a crew knock out. The turret sides are very weak, often gives you a protection around 60mm. The rear is worse, plus the turret ammo rack is placed at the end of the turret rear, shooting this area will destroy the tank one shot.

The ERA is what makes this tank sit at 8.7. When sloped, the ERA at front of the UFP will offer a 400mm protection against HEAT. Mostly, this package is useless. However, since 8.0-8.7 is an actual BR in the game, you will encounter the M551, M60A2, RakJpz, and KPz-70s that primarily fire missiles. ERA at the side of turret is at 260 mm effective in chemical protection, which is not very effective against most threats. Also, you can sometimes roll high in the chances and deflect a 700 mm penetrating missile from the Type 89 IFV. However, there are multiple places in the front of the tank where no ERA blocks could be found.

Other weak spots that are noticeable on the tank are: drivers view port, turret front that is not the gun shield, the commander's cupola, gunner's view port,

Armour type:

• Explosive reactive armour
• Cast homogeneous armour
• Rolled homogeneous armour (Rear roof, Engine grille)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	79* mm (57-68°), 50* mm (52-76°) Front glacis 79 mm (0-57°), 30 mm (75°) Lower glacis	35-57 mm (0-35) 30 mm Bottom 25 mm (70°) Belly	30 mm (10°) Top 30 mm Center 25 mm (70°) Bottom	15 mm 8 mm Engine grille
Turret	30-150* mm (0-79°) Gun mantlet 30* mm (61-75°) Turret front top	41.5* mm (19-47°)	30 mm (1-64°) 20 mm (54-64°) Turret underside	20 mm
Armour	Sides	Roof
Cupola	60 mm	20 mm
Special armour*	Kinetic	Chemical
ERA	5 mm	400 mm

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	73	73	38.2	1162	1,431	30.42	37.46
Realistic	66	66		663	750	17.36	19.63

When fully upgraded, the engine offers a 750 hp output at 2400 rpm. Max speed is 65 km/h, and the tank can achieve 45-50 km/h on a map like Kursk (when driving downward, you can achieve 65 km/h). Reverse gear is 27 km/h, which is fast. The reverse gear is faster than Leopard 1's by 2 km/h. The tank feels somewhat lighter than Leopard 1 series of tanks, since it has lighter weight (note that Leopard 1 tanks have a 830 hp output engine).

Armaments

Main armament

105 mm CN-105-F1
Capacity			Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
47			-8°/+20°	±180°	N/A
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	28.6	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__
Realistic	17.9	22.1	25.7	28.4	30.0
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
8.7	7.7	7.1	6.7

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 0° Angle of Attack
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
OCC 105 F1	HEAT	400	400	400	400	400	400
OE 105 F1 Mle.60	HE	26	26	25	25	25	25
OFL 105 F1	APFSDS	361	358	350	341	332	322

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity in m/s	Projectile Mass in kg	Fuse delay in m:	Fuse sensitivity in mm:	Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):	Normalization At 30° from horizontal:	Ricochet:
								0%	50%	100%
OCC 105 F1	HEAT	1,000	10.95	0.0	0.1	1,020	+0°	62°	69°	73°
OE 105 F1 Mle.60	HE	700	12.1	0.1	0.1	2,000	+0°	79°	80°	81°
OFL 105 F1	APFSDS	1,525	3.8	N/A	N/A	N/A	°	78°	80°	81°

Smoke characteristic
Ammunition	Velocity in m/s	Projectile Mass in kg	Screen radius in m	Screen time in s	Screen hold time in s:	Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):
OFPH 105 F1	700	11.4	20	5	25	50

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the AMX-30B2 BRENUS.

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
47	23 (+24)	(+)	(+)	(+)	(+)	(+)	no

Machine guns

20 mm M693
Coaxial mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
1,000 (500)				740	-0°/+20°	N/A

7.62 mm AAN-F1
Pintle mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
2,000 (100)				900	-10°/+45°	±120°

Usage in battles

The AMX 30B2 Brenus cannot withstand a frontal encounter with most opponents due to the lack of a reliable armor and a stabilizer, making the tank an easy prey for almost anyone on the battlefield. However, the tank comes with a great mobility, able to reach 65 km/h in RB (72 in AB) even in reverse, making it the ideal tank to shoot the enemy and rapidly retreat to change position. The optics are better than the ones found on the other AMX-30s, but still not sufficient to properly see targets at long ranges, unlike tanks like the Leopard I with its 16x. However, it's not something to worry about: the thermal sight will allow the player to easily spot targets from far away. Its gun is capable of punching through most of enemy tanks, but caution is a must when uptiered: tanks like the T-72 cannot be damaged in the turret even by the AMX-30B2's APFSDS, leaving only the hull as a potential target.

The tank is not very suitable for urban combat, since most enemies will have a stabilizer and thus will be capable of landing the first shot, often knocking out the gunner, disabling the engine, the gun, or just setting the tank on fire. The best thing to do, in these cases, is to avoid the center of the map, flanking the enemy to hit him from the side and staying hidden from sight so enemies don't focus their firepower on the AMX-30B2.

In larger and flat maps the tank gives its best, thanks to the high mobility and the capability to shoot the enemy from far away, although the commander cupola can be an issue since it ruin the silhouette of the tank, making it clearly visible, sometimes even when behind cover.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	Horizontal Drive	OFPH 105 F1
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	Adjustment of Fire	OFL 105 F1
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Elevation Mechanism	Smoke grenade
IV	Transmission	Engine		Artillery Support	Laser rangefinder	NVD

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Reactive armour, good chemical protection
• Good mobility
• Good forward and reverse speed
• Low profile
• Effective in an ambush role
• Thermals can be unlocked
• Laser rangefinder, high-velocity APFSDS rounds and thermal vision make for an effective sniper
• The coaxial 20mm cannon makes short work of thinly armoured vehicles and helicopters. Also works great against tracks and cannon barrels

Cons:

• Same ammunition as B2 version, random HEAT rounds effects and low APFSDS penetration
• No composite armour, low survivability against kinetic rounds
• Some weak spots between reactive armor plates
• Not having a gun stabilizer greatly hampers its performance
• Ammo racks in turret, high risk of explosion

History

During the mid to late 1990s, AMX-30B2 tanks of the 1er/ 2e Chasseurs tank regiments, which formed France’s rapid reaction force in peacetime, underwent upgrading under the Brenus modernization program, whilst two further regiments received modifications to quickly upgrade their AMX-30s with the Brenus package if needed (2e/5e Dragons). The Brenus upgrade package (acronym for briques réactives de surblindage) most notably allowed for the installation of 112 ERA blocks developed by the GIAT company across the front portion of the hull and turret. To compensate for the additional weight of the ERA packages, an improved 8-cylinder 750 horsepower MACK E9 diesel engine was fitted. The Brenus modernization upgrade was among the last to be fitted to the original AMX-30 tank.

- From Devblog

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

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.

External links

• [Devblog] AMX-30B2 Brenus: Modern Ironclad