German Rheinmetall will perform studies for 130 mm tank gun ammunition for a new type of Leopard MBT dubbed Leopard 3 by the local coverages.
As the work on the EMBT continues in the Germany-France partnership KNDS, Germany is looking for an interim solution before the realisation of a decades-long dream in the form of a new Leopard MBT variant.
France is taking a similar approach with a heavily modified version of its own Leclerc MBT, which features a new turret with an ASCALON 120 mm L58 smoothbore gun that is swappable with a 140 mm one.
Rheinmetall has been working on the 130 mm L52 smoothbore gun, which is also set to be used on the KF51 Panther MBT. The War Zone reported that three ammunition types would be developed for the 130 mm gun: DM13 test rounds, DM11 HE, and DM23 APFSDS-T.
During Eurosatory 2024, KNDS unveiled an unmanned turret onboard Leopard 2 MBT that accepts 130 mm and 140 mm smoothbore guns. The demonstrator, dubbed Leopard 2 A-RC 3.0, also has a 30x113 mm RCWS and LOS/NLOS missiles for long-range engagement on its turret. The turret might be used for the upcoming Leopard 3 MBT because it is proven on an existing chassis and the acceptance of the 130 mm cannon to be fielded.
