Editing AMX-30 (section)

===Modernization===
[[File:French AMX-30 Desert Storm.jpg|thumb|French AMX-30B2 deployed in [[Saudi Arabia]], during military operations before the [[Gulf War]]]]

During the production run, many improvements were implemented. These did not include gun stabilization from 1971, and from 1972<ref>Crow, p. 141</ref> replacing the original coaxial heavy machine gun with a dual purpose {{convert|20|mm|in|sp=us|adj=on}} [[autocannon]] against light armour and helicopters, with the ability to depress to −8 degrees and elevate to 40 degrees.<ref name="Caiti34"/> All French army vehicles were eventually brought to this newer standard; the designation remained ''AMX 30B''.<ref name="Jeudy 256">Jeudy, p. 256</ref>

[[File:AMX30B2Brennus.jpg|thumb|left|An AMX-30B2 BRENUS. Note the [[Reactive armour#Explosive reactive armour|ERA blocks]] mounted on the turret.]]

Beginning as early as 1973, only seven years after the beginning of production, the French began a research program for a future modification of the tank.<ref>de Mazarrasa (1990), p. 71</ref> The project was to result in a ''AMX 30 Valorisé'' ("upgraded AMX-30").<ref name="Caiti37">Caiti, p. 37</ref> In June 1979, the French Army decided to both build new and modernize existing AMX-30s with an improved fire control system and a new transmission, and designated them ''AMX-30B2''s.<ref name="Miller89">Miller, p. 89</ref> The first new production vehicles were taken into service in January 1982.<ref>Foss (1986), p. 24</ref> Improvements to the COTAC APX M-508 fire control system included the installation of a [[laser rangefinder]] and a low-light TV (LLTV).<ref>Bishop, p. 220</ref> The main gun's lethality was improved with the introduction of a new armour piercing fin stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS). The original engine was exchanged for an improved variant, known as the HS-110.2, producing {{convert|680|hp|kW|sp=us}}. The poor transmission was replaced with the semi-automatic SESM ENC200 transmission (now RENK France), with a torque converter. The suspension was improved by adopting new torsion bars and shocks, which increased the vertical deflection range of the road wheels,<ref>de Mazarrasa (1990), p. 72</ref> thereby improving the tank's off-road mobility.<ref>Simpkin, p. 106</ref> From 1998, the French army started to replace the engines of its remaining AMX-30 tanks and variants with 500 Renault Mack E9 750&nbsp;hp engines.<ref name="Foss(2005)30">Foss (2005), p. 30</ref>

Leclerc tank had already been ordered in the 1990s, however the AMX-30 continued to play a key role in the French army and two further up-grades were implemented in limited numbers for ''French rapid reaction force'' which was made up of 2 Tank Regiments ''1er and 2e Chasseurs''. The first  upgrade was an Explosive Reactive Armour package called ''BRENUS''. Final upgrade was the purchase of 500 Renault RVI Mack E9 turbocharged diesel engines generating 750&nbsp;hp <ref>Jeudy, p. 265</ref> These two tank regiments in peacetime were combined into a single one;,<ref name="Miller89"/><ref>Foss (2003), p. 429</ref> but the other two ANX-30 regiments, the ''2e/5e Dragons'',<ref>Berthemy, p. 18</ref> only had their tanks adapted for a possible relatively quick upgrade, in case of an emergency.<ref name="Foss(2005)30"/> The BRENUS system used 112<ref>Berthemy, p. 17</ref> GIAT BS (''Brique de Surblindage'') G2 explosive reactive boxes with a total weight of {{convert|1.7|MT|ST|sp=us}}, offering a protection equivalent to {{convert|400|mm|in|sp=us}} of steel at 60° versus shaped charges<ref name="Foss(2005)30"/> and more than {{convert|100|mm|in|sp=us}} of steel versus kinetic energy projectiles such as APFSDS.<ref>{{cite book |author1=MH |title=Lightweight add-on armour improves tank protection |date=May 1996 |publisher=Jane's International Defense Review |page=17}}</ref> During the 1990s, the AMX-30 has also been used as a testbed for several [[stealth technology|stealth technologies]], including air cooling of hull surfaces and the use of visual camouflage. This prototype is known as the ''Démonstrateur Furtif à Chenille''.<ref>Biass & Richardson, p. 62</ref> Its hull and turret are fully covered by a superstructure built of angled plates made of [[radar absorbent material]].<ref name="Foss(2005)30"/>

In the late 1980s, a consortium of West German companies developed the ''Super AMX-30'' modernization package for AMX-30B. The consortium itself consisted of [[AEG (German company)|AEG]], [[Atlas Elektronik|Krupp Atlas Elektronik]], [[MTU Friedrichshafen|MTU]], [[Wegmann & Co.]], [[Diehl Defence|Diehl]], [[ZF Friedrichshafen]], and [[GLS Bank|GLS]]. The upgrades to the power packs were new MTU MB833 Ka501 diesel engine with 850&nbsp;hp, ZF LSG-3000 automatic transmission, new engine cooling system, and increased fuel capacity up to 1,028 liters. The upgrades on mobility also includes upgraded torsion bars, hydraulic shock absorbers, new slightly larger road wheels, and Diehl Type 234 tracks. The fire control systems were upgraded with MOLF-30 modular laser FCS by Krupp Atlas Elektronik, gyro-stabilized gun and gunner's day/night sight, laser rangefinder, and fully electric turret drive. Optional additional armour on the turret also available per buyer request. A single prototype was made and were publicly unveiled and tested in Saudi Arabia. The upgrade failed to find a buyer.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Nikolskiy |first1=M. |last2=Baryatinskiy |first2=M. |title="Леклерк" и другие французские основные боевые танки |magazine=Бронеколлекция 2007 № 05 (74)|publisher=Редакция журнала "Моделист-конструктор"|year=2007|location=Moscow|language=RU|pages=12–14}}</ref>