French-German tank project company is closed to partners for now

PARIS — The planned project company between defense firms KNDS, Rheinmetall and Thales to develop a future main battle tank for Germany and France will remain closed to other shareholders for now, according to the French branch of KNDS.

The two governments recommend the French and German divisions of KNDS as well as Rheinmetall and Thales each hold a 25% stake in the project company, KNDS France said in an emailed response to Defense News questions. The companies on April 30 announced plans to set up a project company to work on the future tank, known as the Main Ground Combat System.

“The integration of new companies into the project company will only be considered when the MGCS program is opened up to other nations,” KNDS said. “At this stage, the MGCS program is solely French-German; the French and German companies in charge have been designated.”

Deciding whose defense firms would get to do what on the future tank has been a touchy topic for politicians in France and Germany, and years of wrangling were resolved last month with the countries’ defense ministers signing off on an equal share of the industrial work.

The governments’ recommendations, including for a 50-50 France-Germany split for the entire project, will be used to draw up the operating rules of the project company, KNDS said.

“We’ll have a balance in MGCS between the four participating companies,” Emmanuel Chiva, the head of French armament agency DGA, said in an interview on BFM TV on Monday. “That’s what’s always a little complicated to set up.”

The project will include a heavy tank alongside “other effectors” such as armored vehicles equipped with innovative weapons, drones and a combat cloud, according to Chiva, who said the project “is well underway,” with the first contracts to be awarded at the start of 2025.

The work on MGCS has been divided into eight pillars, and the project company will subcontract work on the pillars to various companies, on a 50-50 French-German basis. While the governments have recommended which nation will lead each pillar, the companies remain to be designated, KNDS said.

The project company will be the single point of contact for the contracting authority, Germany’s Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support, according to KNDS. With Germany designated the lead country on MGCS, the Bundeswehr acquisition office will issue invitations to tender and will buy from the project company on behalf of the two countries.

France’s Safran is involved in several pillars of the MGCS project, the company said in an emailed response to questions. Safran Electronics & Defense will lead the work related to the sensor suite in association with Thales LAS, under the banner Optrolead, with Germany’s Hensoldt also part of the sensor pillar as a main partner, according to Safran.

Safran said its “ready to play an active role” in other pillars. The DGA in February awarded a contract to KNDS and Safran to develop new sights for the renovated Leclerc main battle tank, replacing analog systems with digital ones and adding latest-generation sensors and a panoramic observation sight.

The MGCS is a topic of “interesting conversations” between France and Italy, French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu said April 29 at a meeting with his Italian counterpart, Guido Crosetto. The countries’ army leaders will discuss Italy’s vision for armored cavalry in the 2040s and beyond, looking at points of convergence for when France and Germany kick off the first phase of the future tank, the minister said.

“We’ll talk about it with our German friends, but there would something natural in Italy being able to participate in this project for a future tank,” Lecornu said. “The interest is there, the operational need seems to us could be there, and we’ll obviously continue our exchanges with our German friends on this subject.”

The national leads for the MGCS pillars, as reported by France’s Armed Forces Ministry:

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——据 KNDS 法国分公司称，国防企业 KNDS、莱茵金属和泰雷兹计划成立的项目公司，旨在为德国和法国开发未来的主战坦克，目前仍将不对其他股东开放。

KNDS法国公司在回复《防务新闻》的电子邮件中表示，两国政府建议KNDS的法国分公司和德国分公司以及莱茵金属公司和泰雷兹公司各自持有项目公司25%的股份。这些公司于4月30日宣布计划成立一家项目公司，负责研发未来坦克，即主战地面作战系统（Main Ground Combat System）。

KNDS表示：“只有当MGCS项目向其他国家开放时，才会考虑将新公司并入项目公司。目前，MGCS项目仅限于法德两国；负责该项目的法国和德国公司已经确定。”

决定未来坦克由哪家国防公司负责哪些部分一直是法国和德国政界人士关注的敏感话题，经过多年的争论，两国国防部长上个月签署协议，同意平等分担工业生产工作，从而解决了这一问题。

KNDS表示，各国政府的建议，包括整个项目由法国和德国各出资50%的方案，将用于制定项目公司的运营规则。

法国国防军总局局长埃马纽埃尔·奇瓦周一在接受BFM电视台采访时表示：“我们将确保MGCS项目中四家参与公司之间的平衡。这方面的安排总是有点复杂。”

据奇瓦称，该项目将包括一辆重型坦克以及“其他效应器”，例如配备创新武器的装甲车、无人机和作战云。奇瓦表示，该项目“进展顺利”，首批合同将于 2025 年初授予。

MGCS项目分为八个支柱，项目公司将以法德两国各占50%的比例，把每个支柱的工作分包给不同的公司。KNDS表示，虽然两国政府已就每个支柱的牵头国提出了建议，但具体由哪家公司负责仍有待确定。

据KNDS公司称，项目公司将作为采购方——德国联邦国防军装备、信息技术和在役支持办公室——的唯一联系点。由于德国被指定为MGCS项目的牵头国，联邦国防军采购办公室将发布招标邀请，并代表两国向项目公司采购。

法国赛峰集团在回复邮件中表示，该公司参与了MGCS项目的多个支柱。赛峰电子与防务公司将与泰雷兹激光系统公司（Thales LAS）合作，以Optrolead为名，牵头负责传感器套件的相关工作；德国亨索尔特公司（Hensoldt）也是传感器支柱的主要合作伙伴之一。

赛峰集团表示，它“准备在其他领域发挥积极作用”。今年2月，法国国防装备总局（DGA）与KNDS和赛峰集团签订合同，为改进后的勒克莱尔主战坦克开发新型瞄准系统，用数字系统取代模拟系统，并加装最新一代传感器和全景观察瞄准镜。

法国国防部长塞巴斯蒂安·勒科尔努4月29日在与意大利国防部长圭多·克罗塞托会晤时表示，MGCS（机动装甲骑兵系统）是法意两国“正在进行的有趣对话”的话题。勒科尔努部长说，两国军方领导人将讨论意大利对2040年代及以后装甲骑兵的愿景，并探讨法德两国在启动未来坦克第一阶段合作时可以有哪些共同点。

“我们会和德国朋友讨论这个问题，但意大利参与未来坦克项目是顺理成章的事情，”莱科尔努说。“我们对此很感兴趣，我们认为实际作战需求也存在，我们当然会继续就此与德国朋友进行交流。”

根据法国武装部队部的报告，MGCS 各支柱的国家领先者如下：

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。