KNDS, Rheinmetall, Thales move ahead on next-generation tank project

PARIS — Armored-vehicle makers KNDS and Rheinmetall and defense-electronics firm Thales signed the shareholder agreement for the project company that will develop a future main battle tank for Germany and France, moving a step closer to starting actual work on a program held up for years by wrangling between various partners.

KNDS Deutschland, KNDS France, Rheinmetall and Thales will each hold 25% in the new company, which will be based in Cologne, Germany, with the accord signed in Paris on Jan. 23 deemed essential in creating the joint firm, the companies said in statements. The firms announced their plan to set up the joint entity nearly nine months ago.

On a country level, the work share between France and Germany will be split 50/50. The balance between the various partners “was a little complicated” to set up, Emmanuel Chiva, the head of French armament agency DGA said in May.

The future tank, known as the Main Ground Combat System, is meant to replace the Leopard 2 and Leclerc tanks in service with the German and French armed forces, respectively. With the timetable to field the MGCS at risk of slipping, KNDS and Rheinmetall have been proposing competing tank concepts and upgrades as a stop-gap measure for operators of aging tanks.

“MGCS is the combination of the unique know-how of France and Germany in the field of battle tanks,” KNDS France CEO Nicolas Chamussy said in a post on X, calling the effort a “structuring program for Europe’s autonomous capacity in the area of land-combat systems.”

While the companies said the MGCS program aims to replace the Leopard 2 and Leclerc tanks by 2040, a statement by the French Armed Forces Ministry said the future tank will replace France’s Leclerc by 2035.

KNDS sees a market for hundreds of main battle tanks during the next 10 to 15 years – starting well before the envisioned arrival of the future tank. The company presented upgrades of the Leopard 2 and the Leclerc Evolution at the Eurosatory defense show in Paris last year. Rheinmetall showcased a version of its KF51 tank with an uncrewed turret at the show, as the company’s head of vehicle systems in Europe said the MGCS was taking longer than planned.

Meanwhile, the threats to heavy armor on the battlefield are evolving, with drones having become major tank killers in Ukraine. Rheinmetall in September unveiled an upgraded version of the U.K.’s Challenger battle tank, with a 120 mm smoothbore cannon and upgraded armor, which the company says is a step up in survivability.

While KNDS Deutschland continues to produce the Leopard 2, with orders in recent years or plans to buy from countries including Sweden, Lithuania, Czechia and the Netherlands, KNDS France produced its last Leclerc in 2008, though the company has been working on upgrading existing tanks for the French Army.

As for Rheinmetall, the German company opened a new tank factory in Hungary in 2023, plans to start producing new tanks in Italy together with Leonardo, and has proposed setting up a plant in Ukraine to manufacture as many as 400 KF51 tanks a year.

The MGCS project company will be the prime contractor for the next phase of the future tank program, after negotiating a contract with the German federal office for Bundeswehr equipment, the companies said. In particular, the joint company will “consolidate the concept” and the main technological pillars of the system.

The work on MGCS has been divided into eight pillars, and the project company will subcontract work on the pillars to various companies. The program will include a heavy tank alongside unmanned armored vehicles, and be equipped with innovative weapons.

While countries including Italy and the Netherlands have expressed interest in the program, MGCS is French-German only for now. KNDS has said the integration of new companies into the project company will only be considered when the program is opened up to other nations.

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——装甲车辆制造商 KNDS 和莱茵金属公司以及国防电子公司泰雷兹签署了项目公司的股东协议，该项目将为德国和法国开发未来的主战坦克。此举使该项目距离真正启动又近了一步，此前由于各合作伙伴之间的争执，该项目已被搁置多年。

KNDS德国公司、KNDS法国公司、莱茵金属公司和泰雷兹公司将各自持有新公司25%的股份。新公司总部将设在德国科隆。各公司在声明中表示，1月23日在巴黎签署的协议对于成立这家合资公司至关重要。这些公司在近九个月前宣布了成立这家合资企业的计划。

在国家层面，法国和德国将各承担50%的工作份额。法国国防装备总局局长埃马纽埃尔·奇瓦在5月份表示，确定各合作伙伴之间的平衡“有点复杂”。

这款名为“主战地面作战系统”（MGCS）的未来坦克旨在取代德国和法国军队目前分别服役的豹2坦克和勒克莱尔坦克。由于MGCS的部署时间表面临延误的风险，KNDS和莱茵金属公司提出了各自的坦克概念和升级方案，作为老旧坦克用户的过渡措施。

“MGCS 是法国和德国在主战坦克领域独特专业知识的结合，”KNDS 法国首席执行官 Nicolas Chamussy 在 X 上发表的一篇文章中表示，称这项工作是“欧洲在陆地作战系统领域自主能力的结构化计划”。

虽然各公司表示 MGCS 项目旨在到 2040 年取代豹 2 和勒克莱尔坦克，但法国武装部队部的一份声明称，未来的坦克将在 2035 年取代法国的勒克莱尔坦克。

KNDS公司预计未来10到15年内将有数百辆主战坦克的市场需求——这远早于未来坦克的预期问世。该公司去年在巴黎举行的欧洲防务展上展示了豹2和勒克莱尔进化型坦克的升级方案。莱茵金属公司也在展会上展示了其KF51坦克的无人炮塔版本，该公司欧洲车辆系统负责人表示，MGCS（多用途装甲车控制系统）的研发进度比预期要慢。

与此同时，战场上重型装甲面临的威胁也在不断演变，无人机已成为乌克兰战场上主要的坦克杀手。莱茵金属公司9月份发布了英国挑战者主战坦克的升级版，配备120毫米滑膛炮和升级装甲，该公司称这显著提升了坦克的生存能力。

尽管 KNDS 德国公司继续生产豹 2 坦克，近年来还收到了来自瑞典、立陶宛、捷克和荷兰等国的订单或购买计划，但 KNDS 法国公司在 2008 年生产了最后一辆勒克莱尔坦克，不过该公司一直在为法国陆军升级现有坦克。

至于莱茵金属公司，这家德国公司于 2023 年在匈牙利开设了一家新的坦克工厂，计划与莱昂纳多公司在意大利开始生产新坦克，并提议在乌克兰建立一家工厂，每年生产多达 400 辆 KF51 坦克。

MGCS项目公司与德国联邦国防军装备办公室达成合同协议后，将成为未来坦克项目下一阶段的主承包商。两家公司表示，合资公司将负责“完善”该系统的概念和主要技术支柱。

MGCS项目分为八个支柱，项目公司会将各支柱的工作分包给不同的公司。该项目将包括重型坦克、无人装甲车以及创新型武器。

尽管包括意大利和荷兰在内的多个国家已表示对该项目感兴趣，但MGCS目前仅限于法德两国。KNDS表示，只有在项目向其他国家开放时，才会考虑将其他公司纳入项目公司。

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。