In 1970, Spain ran into problems as its fleet of American tanks, including the M74, had become outdated. For political reasons, the U.S.A. and U.K. were unable to ship arms to the kingdom, as was Germany, since the gun of the German Leopard 1 was British. As a result, Spain purchased the French AMX 30 and from 1974 began production of a licensed version, the AMX 30E, which was not modernized. The French tanks proved insufficiently reliable, and so Spain had to modernize the old M47, M48, and AMX 30. In 1979, after AMX 30E production ended, modernization projects began, including the El Niño—the AMX 30 with an elongated hull—and the Leox—a modification of the Leopard 1 hull with the AMX 30E turret.