Germany, France to Launch Architectural Study on Future European Tank Project
Germany and France are set to launch an architectural study on European Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) by April of this year.
“Architectural study on the MGCS project will begin in March or April. This is in accordance with the timeline decided upon during Franco-German defense and security council held on October 16,” a source was quoted as saying by La Tribune last week.
The European Main Battle Tank will combine the hull of a Leopard 2A7 with the lighter, two-man turret of a Leclerc. The project was launched to replace the AMX Leclerc and Leopard 2 main battle tanks currently in service with the two countries. This is the first new tank design in the world in decades.
Deployment of the new tank is scheduled for 2035.
Tank manufacturers (Nexter, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, Rheinmetall) have submitted their offers. The project had been caught up in a maneuver by German Rheinmetall to take over the Franco-German industry team of Nexter and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, called KNDS.
A solution to ensure equal sharing of work between the companies has reportedly been worked out now. "We have found an industrial agreement between Rheinmetall and KNDS on who will do what work," the source said.
In late 2019, Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper reported that officials arrived at an agreement in which Rheinmetall would become a subcontractor in the project receiving 25% of the work share, with Nexter getting 50% and KMW getting 25%.
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