France’s Nexter announced on 29 February 2024 that in late 2023 it qualified its SHARD new-generation 120 mm armoured-piercing, fin-stabilised, discarding sabot (APFSDS) tank ammunition, adding that it is now ready for mass production.
SHARD was developed to give increased firepower to the 120 mm main armaments of NATO main battle tanks (MBTs). KNDS, Nexter’s parent company, said in a company press release that it was designed “to bring 120 mm APFSDS tungsten alloy ammunition to the next level of performance against all modern MBT and armoured threats in the present and future battlefields.
The key performance characteristics of SHARD, according to KNDS, are that it achieves 15% greater penetration than current-generation ammunition while ensuring a low level of dispersion; that it reduces barrel wear by 25% to reduce maintenance cycles and costs; and that it achieves a muzzle velocity of 1,720 m/s with the L52 gun of the French Leclerc MBTs and 1,734 m/s with the L55 gun of the German Leopard 2 MBT.
KNDS stated that SHARD ammunition was developed to have a numerically optimised design and a lighter aluminium sabot, as well as an elongated penetrator using a new high-performance tungsten alloy that has been designed in conjunction with Plansee Tungsten Alloys to defeat the protection of latest-generation MBTs.
The ammunition also has a proven and REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals)-compliant propulsion system that ensures the excellent velocity of the ammunition, according to KNDS.
“SHARD is a fully ITAR-free solution compatible with all NATO smoothbore 120 mm tanks including Leclerc, Leopard 2, M1 Abrams, Ariete and Centauro 2. It has been designed according to the Stanag 4583 and Interface Control Document 120 (ICD120) standards,” KNDS stated. “Thus, it offers significant operational, logistic and economic advantages to users: only one APFSDS ammunition for all gun systems.”
A SHARD demonstration for Leclerc and Leopard 2 users was organised in late 2023 in Alcochete, Portugal. KNDS stated that the ammunition’s 15% performance increase was demonstrated with successful firing tests performed on semi-infinite rolled homogeneous armour (RHA) targets, adding that demonstrations and contract negotiations for various countries in Europe, the Middle East and Asia are ongoing.
