NATO Standard Tank - 120 mm (NST-120)This sprang from the
Secret Projects thread 'NATO Standard Tank for the 60s and 70s'. Most responders went for the
Leopard 1 (and I agreed). Abraham Gubler suggested combining "... the best from each nation ... Basically a bigger Leopard 1 with Chieftain style hull and turret castings."
http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,28064.msg293404.html#msg293404The rationale is that the appearance of the T-62 made the planned
Europa-Panzer concept obsolescent (the German
Leopard is abandoned although the French persist with their AMX-30). The only NATO tank capable of defeating the T-62 is the FV4201
Chieftain but early models of this British tank are underpowered and suffer poor reliabilty records. For NST-120, an improved version would be developed.
Initially, the NST-120 program had only four European countries involved - Britain, German, the Netherlands, and Belgium (the US chose to go with the M60A1, the French with their AMX-30). The NATO Standard Tank was basically a
Chieftain with German drivetrain, Dutch electronics, and Belgian secondary armament. For a fairer workshare, the Netherlands and Belgium would also produce ARV and AEV variants.
Shown here is the German NST-120 - the Kampfpanzer
Löwe A2 mit 120-mm-Gebohrtenkanonen. Armed with the German equivalent of the Royal Ordnance's 120 mm L11A2 L/55 gun, this tank was powered by a 1,100 hp V-10 MTU MB 843 Ka501 diesel. The Kpz
Löwe A2 differed from the British Army's similar
Chieftain Mk.4 primarily in having a TEM 2A Optical range-finding system andflexible tracks skirts (armour skirts would not appear on the German tanks until the
Löwe A3A1/
Löwe A4).
The NST-120 initially served Britain as the second-series
Chieftain; Germany as the
Löwe; the Netherlands as the
Leeuw; and Belgium as the CCSO (Char de combat standard de l'OTAN). Later marks served Denmark and Norway (
Løve); Sweden (Strv 120 '
Lejon'); Italy (
Leone); Spain (
León); Greece (
λιοντάρι/
Liontári); and Turkey (
Aslan).
The final variant was the German
Löwe A10 mit 120-mm-Glattrohrkanone. Armour protection was strengthened (including mine protection), a 1,600 hp MB 843 Ka901 engine fitted, and main armament switched to a new smoothbore gun - the Rheinmetall NPzK-120 or Neue Panzerkanone 120-mm-Glattrohrkanone).