Dare to Compare --- M1A2 Abrams SEP versus AMX-40!

The little-known AMX-40 was a French MBT (Main Battle Tank) developed primarily for the export market. It offered immense firepower, protection, and mobility, along with outstanding fire control capabilities, all packed neatly into a chassis weighing less than 45 short tons, and costing less than almost every other new-model MBT on the market at the time. You'd think that an introduction like that would have guaranteed success, but an indifferent French Army, a (justifiably) very cautious export market, and stiff competition from all sides guaranteed that the AMX-40 would never sell during the 1980s. After that, a market overflowing with secondhand M48s, M60s, Chieftains, T-62s, and even more modern tanks like the Leopard 2 essentially sealed the AMX-40's fate. Nevertheless, one has to wonder from the AMX-40's attributes; how did it really compare to supposedly "more powerful" tanks? That's where the M1A2 Abrams SEP comes into the picture here. It's the spiritual antithesis of the AMX-40; gigantic, heavy, thickly armored, bristling with complex electronics, and one of the few MBTs with a unit cost in the double-digit millions. Let's pit them against each other, and see which of the opposing design philosophies was the right one all along! Intro music: Unreal Tournament title screen theme. AMX-30B2 intro/outro: "Lorraine March". Comparison theme: "Strive", from the Armored Core V soundtrack.