France and Germany again in agreement on the MGCS program
Despite a potential rival project initiated by Germany, with Italy, Spain and Sweden, yesterday the Defense Ministers of Paris and Berlin committed themselves (again) to the MGCS project for a new generation tank
Germany and France give new life to their project for the Main Ground Combat System (MGCS).
During a meeting held in Evreux at the base of the joint Franco-German air transport squadron "Rhine", yesterday the defense ministers of the two countries, Boris Pistorius and Sebastien Lecornu (in the photo), gave new political impetus to the Franco-German project German Tank of the Future (MGCS), mired in rivalries between industrialists, agreeing on the definition of the needs expected of the two armies.
Until yesterday, the future of the MGCS, a project launched by Paris and Berlin in 2017 (together with the parallel FCAS for the sixth generation fighter) seemed increasingly uncertain. The program is managed by Knds, a Franco-German consortium formed by the defense groups Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (Kmw, Germany) and Nexter Defense Systems (France) in cooperation with Rheinmetall.
During the meeting, the army leaders of France and Germany signed a document setting out their operational needs and specifications for the MGCS project, reports the Financial Times.
According to the French newspaper La Tribune “what happened at the Evreux air base is both a small and a big step”. “The definition of the requirements constitutes an undeniable step forward after months and months of uncertainty on this Franco-German project”.
“A small step because this turning point has yet to be confirmed. Especially because the program is still in its infancy, seven years after its launch in 2017 by Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel” admits La Tribune .
On the other hand, similar political reassurances also date back to last July, before we learned that the German manufacturers Rheinmetall and Kmw had created a consortium with the Swedish Saab and the Italian Leonardo to develop the successor to the German Leopard 2 tank.
With yesterday's agreements, Paris and Berlin have once again sent the message of wanting to accelerate the joint Mgcs project.
All the details.
THE RECENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN PARIS AND BERLIN
“We want this project and we want it to be a success,” Pistorius told Evreux. In turn, Lecornu underlined that the MGCS "is not a new Leopard, it is not a new Leclerc", but a completely new system, a response to "technological revolutions" on the battlefield, for example through the use of artificial intelligence, drones, laser technologies and electronic warfare equipment.
Last summer, the General Staffs of the armies of Germany and France developed a plan for the further development of the MGCS. This document establishes the "common operational requirements" of the two armies for this program, explained French Minister Lecornu.
The project should now be divided into “thematic pillars” such as weapons systems, armour, mobility and networking. The aim is to facilitate a fair division of work between the German and French defense industries. Pistorius described the signing as a “milestone” as he acknowledged delays that had slowed the pace of the project, adding: “We are trying to unblock the pauses and reignite the momentum.” According to Pistorius, in this way “skills requirements” have been agreed “in a more concrete way than ever”.
UNCERTAINTY REGARDING THE FUTURE OF THE MGCS PROGRAM
By 2035, the Franco-German MGCS is expected to replace the Leopard 2 and Leclerc tanks, in service in the German and French armies respectively. The project risks failing due to differences between Berlin and Paris, which have never been fully resolved.
As Handelsblatt recalls, different interests and ideas from the politics and industry of the two countries weigh on the MGCS. Paris wants a tank as light and agile as possible based on the Leclerc model, while the Bundeswehr is aiming for resistant armour.
HAS A RIVAL PROJECT TAKEN AWAY?
Meanwhile, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden have teamed up to develop the successor to the Leopard 2 Main Battle Tank (“Mbt”).
According to an article in the German newspaper Handelsblatt from early September, German manufacturers Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) have created a consortium with Sweden's Saab and Italy's Leonardo to develop the successor to the German Leopard 2 tank, which is recording a recovery of orders in Europe ( including the one recently confirmed by Rome ).
The four companies hope to obtain funds from the EDF, which has a total budget of eight billion euros, of which 5.3 are available for the promotion of joint armaments projects in the EU.
The Handelsblatt report considers this initiative a competitive threat to the MGCS. Has Berlin left Paris in the lurch?
REASSURANCES FROM BOTH SIDES
Germany and France were keen to reassure us of the opposite.
Yesterday, German minister Pistorious reassured that the MGCS project is much "further along", adding that the EU initiative is not a "rival project", reports the FT . For his part, Lecornu said that the companies had responded to a call for proposals for the EDF, but downplayed its importance since “only 30 million euros” are offered for “conceptual research”.
As La Tribune recalls, France is ready to put 500 million euros on the table for the MGCS through the next law on military planning (2024-2030)
THE NEXT STEPS
So Paris and Berlin pressed the accelerator on the MGCS project.
“Now the program must be restructured and the arms companies must be prepared for clear statements from politicians,” notes Handelsblatt .
By December, Germany and France intend to agree exactly what the pillars should look like and who will take the lead in which area. On this basis, the governments of Berlin and Paris will negotiate the award of contracts with German and French defense groups in early 2024.
Furthermore. Pistorius made it clear that in case of doubt the individual interests of the companies involved will not be taken into consideration. “We are the clients, we are the customers. We will determine what we want,” the German minister said. Afterward, Lecornu said he had established a “flexible and realistic timetable” aimed at building the system by 2040 or 2045.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/francia-e-germania-di-nuovo-in-sintonia-sul-programma-mgcs/ on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 13:56:29 +0000.