France unveils upgraded Leclerc tank with anti-drone cage

France unveiled an upgraded Leclerc XLR tank at the Eurosatory 2026 arms show in Paris, fitted with a metal cage over the turret to protect against attacking drones. The concept, once mocked online when Russian tanks carried similar improvised armor at the start of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, is now being adopted more formally as drone threats grow. The French military said the system is already entering serial production at KNDS France and is being delivered to armored brigades.

At a press briefing in Paris, Gen. Olivier Koka, head of technical development for the French army, said the protection prototype was developed by the army’s research unit. He said France had learned from the war in Ukraine, where both Russian and Ukrainian forces now use various forms of overhead anti-drone protection. The article also notes that the IDF used a similar improvised solution after the October 7 attack, installing nets and dedicated cages on Merkava tanks to keep drones from striking vulnerable turret areas.

The cage is meant to increase the distance between a drone warhead and the tank’s armor, disrupt the angle of impact and, in some cases, trigger an explosion before the charge hits the turret roof. But officials acknowledged it is only a passive defense, and skilled FPV drone operators can work around it by striking from the side, behind the turret, near the engine, or beneath the cage. Israel has also recently used makeshift nets in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah drone attacks, including around parked tanks and positions.

The Leclerc XLR is part of France’s Scorpion modernization program. It has new computers, extra armor, a remotely controlled weapon station for urban combat, a 120 mm gun, an automatic loader, and a three-person crew. The tank also carries modular armor, Galix close protection for smoke and deception, protection against mines and explosive charges, and electronic warfare systems.

France is already planning its next armored generation. The Leclerc is expected to reach the end of its operational life around 2035, while the Franco-German MGCS program is not expected to enter service until about 2045. Gen. Philippe de Montenon said the next platform will not be a direct copy of the Leclerc and will operate alongside drones and robotics. Koka said the future system will “certainly not be just a tank” but a networked combat system with artificial intelligence, and that the interim capability France plans to develop before MGCS will be the project’s first building block.