Tank origin

The AMX 40 began its life as an export version of the AMX 30B2, designated the AMX 32, which featured spaced armor to defeat Anti-Tank Guided Missiles. Due to lackluster sales, the AMX 32 was redesigned and fitted with the more modern 120 mm GIAT smoothbore cannon. The first prototype was completed in 1983. The AMX 40 was intended to be a low-cost tank purely for export, but it failed to attract enough customers, and subsequently the project was canceled in 1990, with only a handful produced.