Lince tank

The Lince (Spanish for Lynx) is a Spanish main battle tank developed in the 1980s to replace the M47 and M48 tanks that the Spanish Army had received under the U.S. Mutual Defense Assistance Act between 1954 and 1975, and to complement the AMX-30E tanks manufactured for the army during the 1970s. Companies from several nations, such as German Krauss-Maffei, Spanish Santa Bárbara, and French GIAT, made bids for the development contract. The main priorities were mobility and firepower, with secondary priority placed on protection; the Lince tank was to have been lighter and faster than its competitors. The vehicle's size would also have been restricted by the Spanish rail and highway network. To achieve a sufficient level of firepower and protection, given the size requirements, the Lince was to use Rheinmetall's 120 mm L/44 tank-gun and German composite armour from the Leopard 2A4.

The Lince tank entered service in 1992 and 440 were produced replacing the M47/M48 tanks. In the 2000s, it was complemented by the larger Leopard 2E main battle tank.

Users

 * Spain
 * Spanish Army x 440