CN120-26

The CN120-26, also simply referred to as Modèle F1 (F1 model) is a French smoothbore 120mm tank gun of 52 calibers designed by the EFAB of Bourges and produced by Giat Industries .

CN120-26
close-up view of the CN120-26 muzzle
Type	smoothbore tank gun
Place of origin	France
Service history
In service	1992-present
Used by	French Army, United Arab Emirates Army, and the Royal Jordanian Army
Wars	Yemeni Civil War
Production history
Designer	EFAB of Bourges
Designed	1980s
Manufacturer	Giat Industries
Produced	1990-2007
No. built	800+
Specifications
Mass	2740 kg
Length	6.931 m (22 ft 8.9 in)
Barrel length	6.24 m (20 ft 6 in) or 52 calibers
Shell	120×570mm NATO
Calibre	120 mm (4.72 in)
Action	automatic vertical sliding-wedge breech
Breech	vertical sliding-wedge
Recoil	400 mm
Elevation	-8° to +17°
Traverse	360°
Rate of fire	up to 12 rounds per minute[1]
Muzzle velocity	1790 m/s (APFSDS)
Feed system	autoloader
Sights	HL 60 or HL 130

Description

The 120 mm smoothbore gun F1 has been designed for installation in the Leclerc main battle tank. The smooth-bore gun is chrome-plated, fitted with a thermal sleeve and has a vertical sliding breech mechanism. It is also fitted with a muzzle reference system (MRS) and the tropicalized variant of the Leclerc is fitted with a compressed air system for removing propellant fumes.^[2]

In the Leclerc application, the gun is fed by a 22-rounds bustle-mounted automatic loader designed by Creusot-Loire Industries. The 120 mm F1 gun fires the same 120×570mm ammunition as the German Rh-120 and American M256 smoothbore guns. The French 120 mm F1 gun is, however, 1 m longer than the L/44 version of the Rh-120, which increases muzzle velocity and armour penetration of APFSDS projectiles; it also gives a longer effective range.^[3]

Additional specifications

• Maximum service chamber pressure: 670 MPa (97,000 psi)^[4]
• Recoil effort at trunnions: 550 kN (APFSDS fired at +51 °C)
• Overall weight: 2740 kg
• Recoiling gun mass: 1995 kg

Operators

Map with CN120-26 operators in blue

Current operators

• France
• United Arab Emirates
• Jordan

• 
  Base of the gun on a Leclerc

See also

• CN120-25 120 mm gun: French equivalent, developed by Établissement d'Études et de Fabrication d'Armements de Bourges (EFAB) in 1979.

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

• L11A5 120 mm rifled gun: British rifled equivalent, developed by Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment (RARDE) in 1957.
• 2A46 125 mm gun: Russian 125-mm equivalent, developed by Spetstekhnika Design Bureau in 1960s.
• Rheinmetall 120 mm gun: German equivalent, developed by Rheinmetall in 1974.
• EXP-28M1 120 mm rifled tank gun: Experimental British weapon of the late 1970s/early 1980s. Was to have equipped the MBT-80.
• IMI 120 mm gun: Israeli equivalent, developed by Israeli Military Industries in 1988.
• OTO Breda 120 mm gun: Italian equivalent, developed by OTO Melara in 1988.
• L30A1 120 mm rifled gun: British rifled equivalent, developed by ROF Nottingham in 1989.
• JSW 120 mm gun: Japanese equivalent, developed by Japan Steel Works in 2008.
• CN08 120 mm gun: South Korean equivalent, developed by Agency for Defense Development (ADD) and WIA in 2008.
• 2A82-1M 125 mm gun: New Russian 125-mm equivalent, developed by Uralvagonzavod in 2014.
• MKE 120 mm tank gun: Turkish equivalent, developed by Otokar and Hyundai WIA in 2016.