AMX-30 - Export

Export

Having in February 1964 decided to produce its own battle tank, Israel at first considered licence production of AMX-30 hulls, while importing the turrets from France. Favoring heavier armour over mobility, Major-General Israel Tal discontinued negotiations with France when the United Kingdom agreed to allow licensed production of the Chieftain tank, in 1966.

France eventually also failed to obtain orders from the remaining two FINABEL nations, Belgium and the Netherlands: the Dutch did not even test the type and the Belgians ordered the Leopard when France refused to allow partial component production of the AMX-30 in Belgium, fearing it would increase the unit cost.

Less expensive and easier to maintain, the AMX-30 has been preferred over the Leopard 1 by less affluent or developed nations.

In 1969, the Greek military junta, agreed to procure a total of 190 AMX-30s and 14 AMX-30Ds, making them the first foreign nation to purchase the French tank. Greek AMX-30s never saw combat, but one, which is now on display in the Greek Army Armour training center is the tank that brought down the gate of the National Technical University of Athens during the 1973 Athens Polytechnic uprising. Greek AMX-30 were retired in the early 1990s, with almost 90 of them transferred to the Cypriot National Guard. Throughout the 1960s, Spain had considered both the AMX-30 and the Leopard 1 to complement their existing fleet of M47 and M48 Patton tanks. Ultimately, Spain opted for the AMX-30 for a variety of reasons, including British unwillingness to sell the L7 tank gun to a fascist regime and the French offer to allow the AMX-30 to be manufactured in Spain. Spain ordered 19 tanks in 1970, and later agreed to manufacture another 180 tanks in Spain. In 1979, Spain began the production of a second batch of 100 tanks, completing a total of 299 AMX-30s issued to the Spanish Army; these were designated AMX-30Es. Spain also procured 10 AMX-30Ds and 18 AMX-30Rs. As production of the AMX-30E ended in 1979, the Spanish Army was already looking for a modernization program to improve the quality of the tank's mobility. In 1987, the Spanish Army began a six-year modernization program which brought 150 tanks up to AMX-30EM2 standards and modified another 149 tanks to AMX-30EM1 standards. The former was a much more complete upgrade, which saw improvements to the tank's mobility through the adoption of a new engine and gearbox, as well as to the tank's firepower, with the development of a new kinetic energy penetrator and the introduction of a far more complex and accurate fire control system for the tank's gunner, amongst other things. The AMX-30EM1 was termed a "reconstruction" and only saw improvements to the tank's mobility by adopting a new transmission and renovating much of the vehicle's worn out systems, such as the brakes, indicators and controls. These rebuilt AMX-30s were soon replaced by M60 Patton tanks procured from the United States in the early 1990s, while its fleet of AMX-30EM2s was later replaced by the B1 Centauro anti-tank vehicle.

In 1972, France was able to gain a contract with Saudi Arabia over the purchase of 190 AMX-30S', designed for the desert environment of the Middle Eastern nation. Named the Palmier Contract, Saudi Arabia's tanks were delivered between 1973 and 1979, while 59 AMX-30Ds were exported between 1975 and 1979, 12 AMX-30Ps between 1977 and 1979, and finally 51 self-propelled howitzers, delivered between 1979 and 1980. Between 1979 and 1981, Saudi Arabia also received 52 AMX-30SAs and later 50 AMX-30C1 Shanine-2s delivered in two batches, between 1980 and 1989. By the 21st century, 50% of Saudi Arabia's AMX-30 fleet were in storage, given that the AMX-30 lacked the capabilities to deal with more modern threats, such as against Iraqi T-62s and T-72s, and Israeli Merkava tanks. These were largely displaced by an order for 315 M1A2 Abrams tanks in 1989, and the acquisition of 450 M60A3 Patton tanks. Although Saudi Arabia planned to procure more M1 tanks, it was unable to do so for financial reasons and the AMX-30 has still not been retired.

Venezuela originally placed an order for 142 tanks in 1972, although this was later reduced to 81 and four AMX-30Ds. In the mid-1980s, Venezuela adopted a modernization plan for its deprecated AMX-30s, opting to replace the original engine with a new Continental AVDS-1790-5A diesel engine, producing 908 horsepower (677 kW) and exchanging the existing transmission with an Allison CD-850-6A. Venezuelan AMX-30s received new fuel tanks, increasing the tank's road range to 720 kilometers (450 mi), while firepower was improved through the adoption of a modern fire control system. In 1977, France and Qatar signed an agreement which garnered France another 24 AMX-30s sold, which would rise to 54 when Qatar ordered 30 AMX-30B2s in 1987. The United Arab Emirates placed an order in 1977 for 64 tanks and a single armoured recovery vehicle, to complete an armoured brigade, in 1977. Due to political issues between Chile and Argentina, the former placed an order for 46 tanks, although this was later cut short to 21 when the contract was canceled by the French government in 1981. In 1982, Cyprus acquired a total of 16 AMX-30B2s and a single AMX-30D, and later ordered another 36 AMX-30B2s. Total production of the AMX-30 and variants totaled 3,571 units.

Later many used vehicles were resold to other nations: in 2005 Cyprus had 102 AMX-30s (obtained from Greece) and 52 AMX-30B2s; Bosnia 32 AMX-30s (from the UAE). French strength had dwindled to about 250 AMX-30B2s.