Wikipedia:Today's featured article/September 28, 2010

The AMX-30 is a main battle tank designed by GIAT, first delivered to the French Army in 1966. The production version of the AMX-30 weighed 36 metric tons (40 short tons), and sacrificed protection for increased mobility. The French believed that it would have required too much armor to protect against the latest anti-tank threats, thereby reducing the tank's maneuverability. The tank's firepower was manifested through its 105 mm (4.1 inch) cannon, firing an advanced high explosive anti-tank warhead known as the Obus G. Speed was provided by the 720 horsepower (540 kW) HS-110 diesel engine, although the troublesome transmission adversely affected the tank's performance. As the French Army began to modernize its fleet of tanks, a new transmission, a new fin-stabilized kinetic energy penetrator, and other improvements were later introduced. As early as 1969, the AMX-30 and variants were ordered by Greece, soon followed by Spain. In the coming years, the AMX-30 would be exported to Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Cyprus and Chile. By the end of production, 3,571 units of AMX-30s and its variants had been manufactured. In the 1991 Gulf War, AMX-30s were deployed by both the French and Qatari armies, and Qatari AMX-30s saw action against Iraqi forces at the Battle of Khafji. (more...)

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