German-French agreement on the new MGCS main battle tank signed

The Federal Ministry of Defense announced today at noon the signing of two agreements on the future heavy land combat system between Germany and France.

“The Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) project to be implemented under German leadership is intended to replace the German Leopard 2 main battle tanks and the French Leclerc main battle tanks from the mid-2030s. With the project, Germany and France are sending an important signal for European cooperation in defense policy,” said the Ministry of Defense in today’s announcement. “Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and her French counterpart Florence Parly have signed a framework agreement defining project organization and management structures. Due to the Corona situation, the ministers were not able to meet for the joint signing.”

Die in den deutschen und französischen Streitkräften jeweils eingeführten Kampfpanzer Leopard 2 und Leclerc wurden in den 1980er Jahren konzipiert und haben seither umfangreiche Kampfwertsteigerungen erfahren. Da diese Kampfpanzer bis 2035 ersetzt werden sollen, haben Deutschland und Frankreich 2012 das gemeinsame Projekt MGCS ins Leben gerufen. Das Projekt gliedert sich in fünf große Phasen: Analyse des operationellen Bedarfs, Konzeptstudie, Entwicklung und technologischer Fähigkeitsnachweis, Integration und Systemdemonstration sowie letztlich die Produktion des Systems. Die beiden ersten Phasen wurden bereits erfolgreich abgeschlossen. Allerdings fehlt bislang eine binational abgestimmte Priorisierung der Einzelforderungen (High Level Requirements).

There is a detailed description of the current planning status including the desired capabilities of the MGCShere.

“Both countries should benefit equally from the cooperation, which is why the contracts to be concluded are based on 50 percent financing between Germany and France. “In addition, both nations should receive sufficient intellectual property rights for the future intended use of the work results,” writes the Ministry of Defense on the contents of the agreement. “The ministers have therefore also signed an implementing agreement (Implementing Arrangement 1), which forms the basis for commissioning a system architecture definition study. Only recently did the Budget Committee of the German Bundestag clear the way for this two-year study to be commissioned. Here too, Germany and France share the costs. The system architecture is a prerequisite for the development of a technology demonstrator with which the German and French requirements for the MGCS can be checked.”

Dorothee Frank

Related topics

Franco-German tank industry commissioned with first MGCS study Main battle tank with 130mm gun on video French main weapon for future land combat system French main weapon for future land combat system MGCS - studies for the successor to the current generation of main battle tanks Foundation stone for German-French transport squadron in Evreux First C-130J in Luftwaffe livery Main Ground Combat System – The Combined Project Team Germany still wants to join the UN Security Council