The war in Ukraine reminded the countries of the Old Continent that war was not a chimera and that, despite relatively stable peace in Europe since the end of the Second World War, it could still knock on their door. France, despite its diplomatic efforts with Russia by President Vladimir Putin, has bitterly noted it. In Berlin, the shock was perhaps even greater when the Ukraine’s large-scale invasion began in February 2022.
This electroshoc has led European nations to review their positions. France hardened its speech towards Russia, and Germany, which until then refused to undertake an in -depth modernization of its military apparatus, has changed its doctrine. In continuity of the Franco-German engine in Europe-sometimes seized in recent years-Paris and Berlin have chosen to associate around an ambitious project: the “main terrestrial combat system” (better known by the acronym MGCS). Fruit of a partnership between four companies – KNDS DEUTSCHLAND, KNDS France, Rheinmetall LANDSYSTEME and Thales Six GTS France – This chariot aims to embody the future of terrestrial armament on the European continent, reports in an article the magazine The War Zone.
The MGCS will have the heavy task of replacing the German tanks Leopard 2 and the French Leclerc armored vehicles, both aging, since designed in the 1970s. Faced with the great maneuvers of Russia, the United States or China, and in a context of international tensions exacerbated, France and Germany have decided to take the initiative with the objective of making this new operational vehicle.
The Federal Cartel Office – German agency responsible for regulating competition in Germany – has brought clarifications on the ambitions of the program, which aims to design a modular main combat tank, capable of adapting to a variety of operational needs. The project thus provides for the development of a single chassis, on which different modules can be installed according to the missions.
Make the ultimate chariot
The MGCS will not be able to be considered a simple chariot. In a way, it will be a “system of systems”, incorporating inhabited and unwaited land vehicles, drones, artificial intelligence technologies, as well as innovative weapons, such as anti-drone lasers.
The war in Ukraine, as is the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan between September and November 2020 in Haut-Karabagh, or the Israeli offensive in Gaza, have demonstrated all the strategic and military importance occupied by drones. Naturally, these new models of armored vehicles will have to adapt to the contemporary realities of the battlefield.
This project launched in 2017 could have never seen the light of day. The fierce competition that French and German companies have been delivered around the governance of the program is an illustration. Industrialists have struggled to distribute the tasks linked to the production and design of the components of the chariot.
MGCS is a good indicator of all the contradictions that cross the European continent. The engines of the European Union (EU), like Germany and France, are trying to be a force for initiative to mobilize in the face of the emergence of international threats. But competition between countries on these markets, combined with the desire to exercise assertive leadership, raise obvious issues of economic and political governance. Fortunately for Paris and Berlin, it seems that this time cooperation has worked.
