Tank Comparison - NATOs Heavy Hitters

Tank Comparison - NATO Heavy Hitters By John Lee When Red Dawn was released late last year, I wrote an article comparing the latest Soviet tanks, and with the release of the Leclerc in the NATO release, I thought it would be a great opportunity to compare the four NATO Heavy Hitters (Leclerc, Leopard 2A5, M1A1HC and Challenger (ROMOR))!

The latest generation of NATO tanks all sport that big boxy look – quite different from Soviet tanks. They all have several things in common including being quite expensive (more on that later). They all are Hit on 4s, have Chobham armour, Thermal Imaging, Laser Rangefinder, a 120mm main gun and impressive front armour! Chobham increases the side armour to 16 against HEAT weapons making them almost impervious to most weapons in assaults except for the APILAS and RPG-7VR. These can still be mitigated though – especially by pinning and assaulting through smoke and or at night. Thermal Imaging means you have no To Hit penalties for Night and Smoke. When playing at Night, roll two dice for Night Visibility and choose the highest score. Laser Rangefinder means no To Hit penalty for ranges over 16”.

That is where the similarities end as even the 120mm guns are different amongst the tanks. Let’s look at each tank in turn and we will compare the stats of each for armour, main guns, and movement.

Starting with the newest kid on the block, the Leclerc is operated by the French and is impressive overall. It has FA22 SA8 TA2 with a 120mm L/52 gun with an impressive 48” range! Combine that with Advanced Stabiliser (meaning a tactical move of 14”) and its effective gun range becomes 62”! Roll a 3+ for blitz and that effective range is now 66”. With its ROF 2 gun (stationary or moving), it is AT23 FP2+ - so deadly overall. It also comes with a 12.7mm MG with ROF 3/2 and a 7.62mm AAMG with ROF 1. Cost-wise for a platoon it's 36pts for two, 55pts for three and 74pts for four. It has 3+ skill and remount – so great for movement orders and getting back into your tank! 5+ morale in line with the rest of the French force. 3+ Courage to follow me. 4+ for assaults and counterattacking.

Next, we examine the Leopard 2A5 which is operated by the West Germans and the Dutch. It has FA22 SA13 TA2 with a 120mm L/44 gun with a range of 40”. Combined with Advanced Stabiliser gives it an extended range of 54”. Rolling a 3+ for a blitz extends the potential range of the gun to 58”. It has AT22 FP2+ with its main gun and ROF 2/2. Additional weapons are a 7.62mm AAMG with ROF 3 and an additional 7.62mm MG with ROF 1 giving you four MG shots. Cost-wise for the West Germans, it's 34pts for two, 51pts for three, and 68pts for four. It has 3+ skill and remount – so great for movement orders and getting back into your tank! 3+ moral, so more likely to hang around. 4+ for assaults and counterattacking as well as Courage to follow me. For the Dutch, they are cheaper due to their lower ratings. Two for 32pts, three for 48pts, four for 64pts. 4+ for most of their ratings except for remount which is 3+.

Onto the next tank now which is the M1A1HC. It has FA21 SA11 TA2 with an M256 120mm gun that has a 40” range, combined with Advanced Stabiliser gives it a 54” effective range. You could try a blitz to get an additional 4” range out to a potential 58” range but on a 4+ might be a challenge. It has an impressive AT23 FP2+ with ROF 2/2. There are three additional machine guns on this beast, a .50cal AAMG, 7.62mm AAMG, and 7.62mm MG giving a potential 5/4 ROF. Cost wise two are 36pts, three are 54pts, and four are 72pts! Ratings-wise, everything is a 4+ except remount which is an impressive 2+.

Finally, we look at the Challenger (ROMOR). It has FA21 SA10 TA2 with a 120mm L11 gun that has a 40” range. It only has Stabiliser, so it can do a 14” move but gains a +1 penalty to hit over 10”. So, an effective range without the penalty would be 50” and completing a blitz move on 3+ could get out to 54”. The gun is AT22 FP2+ with ROF 2/1. To take advantage of using this gun, you want to be stationary if possible. It can also fire smoke meaning you could get a better assault in through the smoke. It also has Brutal meaning Infantry, Mortar Teams, and Unarmoured Tank Teams must reroll saves. Cost-wise, it is the cheapest of the four tanks. Either two for 26pts or three for 39pts. It also has the worst cross check of 3+ compared to the other tanks 2+. It has 3+ skill and remount – so great for movement orders and getting back into your tank! 4+ morale, counterattack as well as Courage to follow me. 3+ for assaults – so a great assault unit armed with smoke makes winning an assault a lot more certain!

Looking to compare the Tanks now directly, we can compare armour, weapons, movement, ratings and cost.

Armour Stats: Tank Front Side Top Notes Leclerc 22 8 2 Chobham Leopard 2A5 22 13 2 Chobham M1A1HC 21 11 2 Chobham Challenger (ROMOR) 21 10 2 Chobham

Weapon Stats: Tank Weapon Range ROF Halted ROF Moving Antitank Fire Power Notes 120mm L/52 gun (Leclerc) 48” 2 2 23 2+ Advanced Stabiliser, Laser Rangefinder 120mm L/44 gun (Leopard 2A5) 40” 2 2 22 2+ Advanced Stabiliser, Laser Rangefinder M256 120mm gun (M1A1HC) 40” 2 2 23 2+ Advanced Stabiliser, Laser Rangefinder 120mm L11 gun (Challenger (ROMOR)) 40” 2 1 22 2+ Stabiliser, Laser Rangefinder, Brutal, Smoke

Movement Stats: Tank Tactical Terrain Dash Cross Country Dash Road Dash Cross Leclerc 14” 20” 32” 32” 2+ Leopard 2A5 14” 18” 32” 32” 2+ M1A1HC 14” 18” 28” 32” 2+ Challenger (ROMOR) 10” 16” 24” 28” 3+

Ratings and Cost: Tank Cost (3 tanks) Skill Courage Remount Morale Assault Counter-Attack Leclerc 55pts 3+ 3+ 3+ 5+ 4+ 4+ Leopard 2A5 (West German) 51pts 3+ 4+ 3+ 3+ 4+ 4+ Leopard 2A5 (Dutch) 48pts 4+ 4+ 3+ 4+ 4+ 4+ M1A1HC 54pts 4+ 4+ 2+ 4+ 4+ 4+ Challenger (ROMOR) 39pts 3+ 4+ 3+ 4+ 3+ 4+

As you can see when you compare each tank, the Leclerc is the most expensive tank overall and has a lethal range with its gun, whilst the Challenger (ROMOR) is the cheapest but does not have Advanced Stabiliser. In saying that though, it has Brutal and Smoke with a 3+ assault rating. Each has its advantages and disadvantages compared to each other. This might help you make decisions on what tank you might be able to take. For example, there are options to take the M1A1HC or Challenger (ROMOR) as support units for other nations that you might be playing – it opens up options.

These tanks are expensive, and you will be hard-pressed to field a formation in a standard 80-120pt game. In most games, you will field a unit of them, either in an existing formation or as a black box formation support unit. To play games with formations of tier 1 tanks such as those in this article, we need to look at playing big points such as 150-250pts. To avoid spam, look at 75% of your total force to be Tier 1 tanks. For 200pts, taking 150pts would give you an HQ, 2-3 tank platoons and then up to 50pts of other units such as infantry, artillery, recon, helicopters, planes, AA etc.

The NATO heavy hitters are beasts and deserve a place in the game. Taking even just a unit of them gives you options for reserves, assaults, long-range firepower, and versatility. I am waiting for the Leclerc, but I have the other three tanks for my various armies and are an integral part of my play style. I hope this has been useful for you if you are contemplating one of these for your existing army or if you are starting out a new one. ~ John