France may withdraw from the project to develop the Franco-German tank of the future Main Ground Combat System (MGCS), after the failure of another joint project between the two countries to develop the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), a European next-generation fighter. This is predicted by Armin Paperger, the head of the German defense company Rheinmetall.
“The threat is always there, but nothing has been decided yet“, Paperger told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper. He noted that France plans to drastically reduce the budget of the MGCS project, but “there are absolutely no decisions on the final budget“. Paperger believes that this would lead to the abandonment of a number of technical requirements and further delays in the implementation of the project. "If you have less money, you won't move faster, and we are already far behind schedule," said Rheinmetall's CEO.
The program, which has been running for nearly 10 years, has seen the four participating companies receive a total of just 25 million euros. Both projects - FCAS and MGCS - were launched almost simultaneously in 2017. The programs were launched by French President Emmanuel Macron and then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel. While the key element of the FCAS is the development of a sixth-generation fighter to replace the Eurofighter and Rafale, the MGCS project focuses on creating a ground combat system and the joint development of an advanced tank to replace the German Leopard 2 and the French Leclerc.
On June 8, the DPA news agency, citing sources in the German government, reported that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Macron had agreed to terminate the FCAS project.
Even if the MGCS project fails, Germany, as Welt am Sonntag points out, will be able to maintain its position as the world's leading tank manufacturer. German companies Rheinmetall and KNDS Deutschland have been developing the Leopard 3 tank as an interim solution for about a year. The first prototypes are planned to enter service in the early 2030s, while the MGCS tank is not expected to reach combat readiness until the 2040s.
“Today I cannot say for sure whether the MGCS system will be implemented at all“, said Paperger. “If there is a desire for consolidation [of the defense sector] in Europe, then, of course, it must be supported at the political level. But we do not see that at the moment.“ At the same time, he added, consolidation must take place directly through the companies themselves. “Sometimes governments simply create obstacles, especially when state-owned enterprises are involved“, the Rheinmetall head stressed.“