The 120mm Giat CN120-26 is the French L/52 smoothbore tank gun built for the Leclerc main battle tank. Forecast International identifies GIAT Industries as the sole-source contractor for the CN-120 F1 program, while Weaponsystems.net lists the gun as a French EFAB de Bourges development with a vertical sliding breech, autoloader feed in the Leclerc installation, NATO 120 mm ammunition compatibility, and more than 800 examples produced.
Public sources use several overlapping names for the same Leclerc gun installation: CN120-26, CN120-26/52, CN-120 F1, and the French Modele F1 / Lisse wording.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| CN-120 (F1) Lisse | Forecast International program designation | Forecast International describes the CN-120 F1 Lisse as the 120 mm tank gun mounted by the AMX/Leclerc family and lists GIAT Industries as prime contractor. |
| CN120-26/52 | L/52 designation form | Weaponsystems.net lists the CN120-26 as a 120 mm L/52 smoothbore cannon, with 6.24 m barrel length and 6.93 m overall length. |
The source-backed public relationship is the gun's installation on the Leclerc tank, not an independent conflict-use record for the cannon itself.
| Compatible item | Item type | Compatibility evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | Main battle tank | Forecast International identifies the CN-120 F1 as the Leclerc main gun, and the existing Leclerc tank record lists its main armament as a 120 mm CN120-26 smoothbore gun with autoloader. Sources: Forecast International CN-120 F1 Lisse, KNDS Leclerc renovation order |
The CN120-26 is cataloged as a relationship-only cannon component because available public sources identify the gun, its Leclerc installation, and its technical data, but do not separately document the cannon itself as an independently transferred or fielded item in a named conflict.
Main 120 mm smoothbore armament for the Leclerc main battle tank, using the Leclerc autoloader in that installation.
CN120-26, CN120-26/52, CN-120 F1, and Lisse all appear in public references for the same French Leclerc gun program.
The Leclerc tank has conflict-use sourcing elsewhere in the catalog; this component record keeps conflicts empty until a source directly names CN120-26 use, transfer, or fielding in a specific conflict.
Sources: Forecast International CN-120 F1 Lisse; Weaponsystems.net 120mm Giat CN120-26; KNDS Leclerc renovation order.
Weaponsystems.net attributes CN120-26 development to EFAB de Bourges in the 1980s.
Sources: Weaponsystems.net 120mm Giat CN120-26
KNDS states that the Leclerc tank has been operational since 1993 and describes it as armed with a 120 mm smoothbore gun.
Sources: KNDS Leclerc renovation order
Forecast International reported that GIAT had produced 816 CN-120 F1 tank guns through 2005.
Sources: Forecast International CN-120 F1 Lisse
KNDS announced that Nexter Systems S.A. became KNDS France S.A. on 8 April 2024, placing the GIAT/Nexter lineage under the current KNDS France manufacturer label used by the catalog.
Sources: KNDS legal renaming announcement
