Germany and France are creating a cross-platform to replace the Leopard 2 and Leclerc tanks
The creation of joint weapons systems, when several countries or companies join forces in financing and development, has long been practiced in Europe with varying degrees of success. Recently in Paris, in the presence of the heads of the French and German Ministries of Defense, Sebastien Lecornu and Boris Pistorius respectively, the companies KNDS Deutschland, KNDS France, Rheinmetall Landsysteme and Thales signed the charter of the company they founded, MGCS Project Company GmbH.
As reported by the founding companies, MGCS stands for Main Ground Combat System - a German-French-French weapons program designed to replace the current German Leopard 2 and French Leclerc MBTs with a cross-platform combat system by 2040. That is, we are talking about the joint creation of a platform (base), on the basis of which the newest tank and other heavy armored vehicles (BREM, SPG and other types) will appear.
The signing of the shareholder agreement marks an important step in the upcoming establishment of the MGCS project. The company. Following the conclusion of a contract with the Federal Administration of Equipment, Information of technologies and technical support of the Bundeswehr (BAAINBw), acting on behalf of the two countries through a German-French-mixed project team (CPT), this project company will be responsible as the industrial general contractor for the implementation of the next stage of the MGCS program. In particular, the concept and the basic technological foundations of the system will be secured
– stated in a communiqué on the website of KNDS France.
It was also specified that the established company MGCS Project Company GmbH will be owned by KNDS Deutschland, KNDS France, Rheinmetall Landsysteme and Thales in equal proportions, 25% each, with a national share of 50% for Germany and 50% for France. The headquarters will be located on German soil in the city of Cologne.
The industrial partners of the MGCS programme are pleased with this signing, which continues the momentum given by the French and German governments in the spring of 2024, when they exchanged letters of intent (LOI)
– the KNDS France communiqué concludes.
It should be noted that in the history of the European military-industrial complex there are many positive results of joint developments, for example, in rocket engineering and aircraft construction, as well as negative ones. Attempts to jointly create a tank have been made repeatedly, starting in the 60s of the twentieth century, but they were all unsuccessful. Time will tell whether something will work out this time.
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