AMX-30E

AMX-30E
An AMX-30E on display at the Museum of Armored Vehicles of El Goloso, in Spain
Type	Main battle tank
Place of origin	France/Spain
Service history
In service	1970–2002
Used by	Spain
Production history
Designer	GIAT
Designed	1974
Manufacturer	Santa Bárbara Sistemas
Produced	1974–83 (manufactured in Spain)
No. built	299
Variants	AMX-30EM1 & AMX-30EM2
Specifications
Weight	36 tonnes (39.68 short tons)
Length	9.48 meters (31.1 ft (hull length)
Width	3.1 meters (10.17 ft)
Height	2.87 meters (9.42 ft)
Crew	4
Armor	80 millimeters (3.15 in)
Main armament	105 mm Modèle F1 tank gun (4.13 in)
Secondary armament	Co-axial M2 Browning machine gun & roof-mounted MG1S3A 7.62×51mm NATO general-purpose machine gun
Engine	Hispano-Suiza HS-110 12-cylinder 670.7 hp (500.1 kW)
Power/weight	20 metric horsepower to tonne (16.9 hp/STon)
Transmission	5SD-200D 5-speed
Suspension	Torsion bar
Ground clearance	.45 meters (1.48 ft)
Fuel capacity	962 liters (211.6 imp gal; 254.1 U.S. gal)
Operational range	400 kilometers (250 mi)
Speed	65 kilometers per hour (40.39 mph)

The AMX-30E (E stands for España, Spanish for Spain) is a Spanish main battle tank based on France's AMX-30. Although originally the Spanish government sought to procure the German Leopard 1, the AMX-30 was ultimately awarded the contract due to its lower price and the ability to manufacture it in Spain. 280 units were manufactured by Santa Bárbara Sistemas for the Spanish Army, between 1974 and 1983.

First acquired in 1970, the tank was to supplement Spain's fleet of M47 and M48 Patton United States tanks and to reduce Spain's reliance on American equipment in its army. The first 19 AMX-30 tanks were acquired from France in 1970, while another 280 were assembled in Spain. It was Spain's first mass-produced tank and developed the country's industry to the point where the government felt it could produce a tank on its own, leading to the development of the Lince tank project in 1985. It also offered Santa Bárbara Sistemas the experience which led to the production of the Leopard 2E in late 2003. Although final assembly was carried out by Santa Bárbara Sistemas, the production of the AMX-30E also included other companies in the country. Total production within Spain amounted to as much as 65% of the tank.

Spain's AMX-30E fleet went through two separate modifications in the late 1980s, a modernization program and a reconstruction program. The former, named the AMX-30EM2 (150 tanks), sought to modernize and improve the vehicle's automotive characteristics, while the latter, or the AMX-30EM1 (149 tanks), resulted in a more austere improvement of the tank's power plant by maintaining the existing engine and replacing the transmission. Both programs extended the vehicle's lifetime. Spain's fleet of AMX-30EM1s was replaced in the late 1990s by the German Leopard 2A4, and the AMX-30EM2s were replaced by Centauro wheeled anti-tank vehicles in the early 21st century.