Germany and France agreed to jointly build a new tank. In Paris, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and his French counterpart Sebastien Lecornu signed a memorandum of understanding on this matter, Tagesschau reported on April 26.
Both ministers called this system “battle tank of the future”. New tanks are expected to be available for both countries by 2040. It is not about continuing to develop existing tanks, but about “something completely new”which includes several “combat machines connected to each other” and equipped with artificial intelligence, Pistorius said.
The ground combat system, called Main Ground Combat System (MGCS), is analogous to the so-called Future Combat Air System (FCAS), on which both countries are already working. In the future, MGCS plans to connect the tanks in a data network with other weapons, such as drones.
Lecornu said Rheinmetall, KNDS and Thales are responsible for the development and construction of the system. The goal is to have the relevant contracts in place before the end of the year.
France should lead the FCAS and Germany should lead the MGCS. Pistorius stressed that he has no doubt that the tank project will win a large majority in the German Bundestag. But there are still some questions to be clarified.
In the medium term, the tank project should be open to other states. Italy and the Netherlands have already expressed interest. This may reduce costs for everyone, but makes the distribution of responsibilities even more difficult.
The system is intended to replace the Leopard 2 battle tanks in Germany and the Leclerc in France. Disputes over exactly where pieces of the new system would be developed delayed planning and caused tensions between Berlin and Paris.
While the German Leopard 2 continues to sell well, France has not produced Leclerc tanks for many years.
In 2012 the first Franco-German plans to develop a joint tank appeared. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave political weight to the plans a few years later: in 2018, the then Defense Ministers Ursula von der Leyen and Florence Parly signed a first declaration of intent, followed by a signed framework agreement. in 2020.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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