France advances ASCALON cannon to redefine tank warfare
France has conducted further tests of the ASCALON tank cannon. The development program for this weapon continues to achieve key milestones, transforming ASCALON from an experimental weapon into a cutting-edge cannon that aims to provide French tanks with a battlefield advantage.
ASCALON (Autoloaded and Scalable Outperforming Gun) is a French next-generation cannon that offers flexibility through its interchangeable barrel, allowing the selection of ammunition calibre. While the Western standard calibre is 120 mm, the ASCALON cannon is also being tested in a 140 mm version, making it the most powerful tank cannon globally in this variant.
ASCALON is an evolution of a project initiated in the late 1980s under the NATO Future Tank Main Armament program. Although the end of the Cold War halted the project, a quarter of a century later, France revived it while seeking a weapon for a next-generation tank. This development is being pursued jointly with Germany under the MGCS program.
In the 140 mm variant, ASCALON fires innovative telescopic armour-piercing ammunition. The projectile is recessed into the casing to reduce cartridge length, which—at about 1.2 metres—facilitates the use of an automatic loader (for comparison, penetrators in modern 120 mm armour-piercing ammunition are approximately 79 cm).
ASCALON - 140 mm tank cannon
Developed by Nexter, the ASCALON cannon has already undergone a series of tests at a fixed test site. The next stage will involve testing it after installation in a demonstrator of the new unmanned turret, which will be mounted on the chassis of a Leopard 2 or Leclerc XLR tank.
Firing tests from a stationary vehicle are scheduled for October 2025. In 2026, ASCALON is set to be tested during firing while in motion.
The advantage of ASCALON is its very high kinetic energy of the projectile, reaching 10-13 MJ at a distance of 2 kilometres, which allows for the effective destruction of any tank. Alongside sub-calibre armour-piercing ammunition, ASCALON will also fire PELTASTE guided missiles, designed to be immune to active defence systems.
Next-generation tank cannons
ASCALON is not the only contender for a European next-generation tank. Germany has developed its own weapon for a future tank, the 130 mm Rh-130 cannon, designed by Rheinmetall.
Historically, Russians have also explored the development of a tank cannon larger than the current standard calibre. In the USSR during the 1980s, a 152 mm tank cannon was developed, intended for the Black Eagle tank among others.
Over the years, the idea of using a large-calibre tank cannon was revisited in the development of the T-14 Armata tank, but the integration of the T-14 with a new weapon was not realized.
