page_title: Lince (tank)
section_title: Bidding
hierarchical_section_title: Lince (tank) / Bidding
caption_attribution_description: English: Spanish AMX-30EM1 at El Goloso.
context_page_description: The Lince was a Spanish development programme for a proposed main battle tank that unfolded during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The intention was to replace the M47 and M48 Patton tanks that the Spanish Army had received under the U.S. Mutual Defense Assistance Act between 1954 and 1975, and to complement the AMX-30E tanks manufactured for the army during the 1970s. Companies from several nations, such as German Krauss-Maffei, Spanish Santa Bárbara, and French GIAT, made bids for the development contract. The main priorities were mobility and firepower, with secondary priority placed on protection; the Lince tank was to have been lighter and faster than its competitors. The vehicle's size would also have been restricted by the Spanish rail and highway network. To achieve a sufficient level of firepower and protection, given the size requirements, the Lince was to use Rheinmetall's 120 mm L/44 tank-gun and German composite armour from the Leopard 2A4.
  The Spanish government decided to upgrade its fleet of AMX-30Es in the late 1980s.
context_section_description: In 1984, the Spanish Ministry of Defense declared its intent to set aside 120 billion pesetas (1.1 billion U.S. dollars) for a future tank program and attracted interest from five foreign companies.  German company Krauss-Maffei and Spanish company Santa Bárbara presented a joint bid in mid-1984 that would produce a tank based on 1970s technology.  The French government proposed to cooperate with Spain in designing a tank complete with new technology—France would later develop this programme on its own as the AMX-Leclerc. However, the French admitted that there would be restrictions placed on Empresa Nacional Santa Bárbara when it came to exporting the tank.  The Italian government proposed a similar deal for a cooperative tank design. The American company General Dynamics and British company Vickers offered the M1 Abrams and Valiant, respectively; the Spanish government rejected their offers the following year because of the low likelihood of local production and export of the tank.  By late 1985, the only offers still under consideration were those from the German-Spanish collaboration and the French and Italian governments.
  Krauss-Maffei's Lince bid provided the clearest technical designs.  The tank would be 49 tonnes and equipped with a 120-millimeter main gun.  It could fire this gun on the move and aim at targets with effectiveness in day and night operations.  Fitted with a 1,200 horsepower (890 kW)  engine, the Lince could travel as fast as 70 kilometres per hour (43 mph) on the roads.  Although heavily based on the Leopard 2A4, the Lince was smaller and lighter, trading protection for mobility.  Specifically, the Lince prioritised enhanced mobility over the irregular Spanish terrain.  Furthermore, size restrictions were imposed because of the existing capabilities of Spain's railroad and highway network.  Although the reduced armor conflicted with the problems that the Spanish had with AMX-30E's thin armor, the Lince used a multilayer armor similar to that of the German Leopard 2A4, providing greater protection than standard armor for a similar weight.  The protection was further enhanced by the low profile turret, again similar to that of the Leopard 2A4.
  In early 1986, the Ministry of Defense declared that it would choose a contract within a matter of months. News sources cited said that Krauss-Maffei would most likely gain the contract, although the French might get it because of past and existing French armament contracts with Spain.  Apart from producing the French-designed AMX-30, the Spanish government also had a contract for Mirage F1 fighter planes and Puma utility helicopters in 1979.  In early 1987, France again offered Spain the contract to co-develop and co-produce the AMX-Leclerc. This time it added the lucrative term of joint export.  Despite the offer and ongoing collaboration with the Italians, Spanish investment in the German-Spanish Lince program grew to 200 billion pesetas (1.8 billion dollars).  However, the Spanish government did not announce a winner for the contract. This indecision led Krauss-Maffei to freeze its bid for the Lince.  Krauss-Maffei also cited the loss of millions of dollars because of failures on the part of Santa Bárbara Sistemas, who would manufacture the Lince.
caption: The Lince programme was meant to complement Spain's fleet of AMX-30Es, such as the one pictured.
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