At least the KNDS realizes the importance of bringing a gun ,not a knife, to a gun fight ie the 140mm. They realize the need for a modular removeable turret & gun. When is the rest of the world going to catch up?
The rest of the world tested 140mm guns decades ago. These were abandoned because no one yet procured anything with a protection level that could warrant that.
Something that is still yet to happen.
A 140mm vs a 120mm isn't a gun vs a knife. It's like a belt fed vs a standard rifle. For a law enforcement officer.
By the way, turrets and guns are indeed removable on every MBT I can think of right now. So that's where the rest of the world is.
Hard not to see this tank as the most protected tank on offer today. Although the West is still a little beyond the Model A phase of APS.
It has APS on par with those of about a dozen other vehicles. But its base armor protection is unknown. As we know, APS is not a substitute for physical armor.
So it would be hard to see it as such.
Right now the most well armored AFV in the world is the Namer, and it's fitted with an APS as well.
This comparison is irrelevant outside the context of threat types. Is the CAPINT sufficiently protected, even without APS, against current threats? Time will tell if it even materializes.
APS first entered service in 2009, exactly 17 years ago. France has so far been unable to move an APS into service. So whether this APS materializes is also unknown.
As long as it is not being integrated onto existing French platforms, I'd assume it's either a mockup or in early stages of development if at all.