The French and German defense ministers signed the memorandum of understanding for an effort to jointly develop the ‘Tank of the future’, the Main Ground Combat System (MGCS), which is aimed at replacing the countries’ current main battle tanks.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and his French counterpart Sébastien Lecornu signed an agreement on April 26, 2024 in Paris on Friday for a joint Franco-German led armaments project worth billions of euros, which includes the development of a next-generation main battle tank.
The MGCS project does not only include a new main battle tank but also a series of systems and vehicles built off that platform that will connect battle tanks in a data network with support weapons such as drones and other unmanned systems.
Interconnecting the weapons systems will enable a technological leap in military technology, according to supporters of the project.
The MGCS project is expected to replace Germany’s Leopard 2 and France’s Leclerc main battle tanks.
The MGCS is the second major arms industry project between the two European countries. Germany is to play a lead role in developing the MGCS, which is a counterpart to the joint Future Combat Air System (FCAS) project being led by France, which includes the development of a next-generation fighter jet as well as drones and other systems.
According to reports, the ministers also reached agreement on the contested distribution of tasks and contracts for the project along eight pillars, of which Germany and France each have the lead in two. The other four pillars are to be coordinated jointly.
Like other joint European defense projects, the effort has been delayed by tensions between participating countries over how to distribute industrial contracts and other spending among firms.
In May 2021, Germany, France and Spain reached an agreement in principle on the FCAS, which is worth billions, following a lengthy struggle over industrial policy.
Lecornu had said in Berlin in March that the main battle tank system would be a “generational leap.”
Pistorius described the agreement in principle as “historic” and added: “We have agreed on the distribution of all tasks for this major project.” However, the details have not yet been publicly released.
There is intense interest among observers about the particulars of the deal, including how individual development tasks will be divided and whether the weapons system will be standardized to allow for shared jointly produced ammunition and other parts.
In the past, there have also been repeated difficulties with joint armaments projects because individual nations have insisted on special technical requirements, resulting in delays and cost increases.
Source: dpa and news agencies