Leclerc DNG

The Leclerc DNG (Dépanneur Nouvelle Génération) is an armored recovery and engineering vehicle based on the Leclerc main battle tank chassis. It is equipped with a powerful crane, a main winch, and a dozer blade for battlefield recovery, obstacle clearing, and earthmoving operations.

Developed by GIAT Industries in the 1990s, the Leclerc DNG was created to replace aging AMX-30-based recovery vehicles that lacked the towing capacity required for the heavy Leclerc main battle tank. It officially entered service with the French Army in 1999 under the designation DCL (Dépanneur du Char Leclerc). The vehicle has seen operational deployment with French peacekeeping forces in Kosovo and Lebanon, while export variants sold to the United Arab Emirates were deployed during the conflict in Yemen. Today, the Leclerc DNG remains a vital asset for both militaries, with ongoing modernization efforts to ensure compatibility with the upgraded Leclerc XLR standard.