Germany withdrawing from joint tank project: French military chief

Germany has decided to withdraw from a project with France to develop a future battle tank, French Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Fabien Mandon said Thursday, the French broadcaster BFMTV reported.

“The Germans have decided to leave the project,” he said, referring to the Main Ground Combat System (MGCS).

“This is not a complete failure, it is an important German choice. Our land forces have worked together for several years to consider what a future battle tank should be,” he said at a National Assembly hearing.

Mandon stressed that the work had established the tank’s main principles, while acknowledging that the withdrawal was “not good news from an industrial point of view.”

The MGCS program was launched in 2017 to replace France’s Leclerc and Germany’s Leopard 2 tanks with a ground combat system centered on a new tank.

The project has faced delays and disagreements on industrial work-sharing, financing and technological choices, with deployment pushed toward 2040 or 2045, the broadcaster reported.

Mandon said France still needed a heavy combat capability, emphasizing the continued relevance of tank firepower.

He urged complementary platforms incorporating robots, artificial intelligence and greater data sharing, potentially requiring fewer personnel to operate.

“We will have a gradual withdrawal of the Leclerc starting in 2038. In 2027, we must launch the studies to be ready for this deadline,” he said.

The announcement marks another setback for Franco-German defense cooperation, coming four months after the failure of the Future Combat Air System project.

That program, also launched in 2017 and involving Spain, was intended to develop a next-generation fighter aircraft to replace the Rafale and Eurofighter sometime in the 2040s.