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According to information from Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger, France plans to drastically cut the budget for the MGCS project, as reported by “Welt am Sonntag.”
Keystone
A project to build a new German-French fighter jet has just fallen through. Now the defense contractor Rheinmetall fears the French might also pull out of the joint MGCS tank project.
“There’s always a risk, but nothing has been decided yet,” Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger told “Welt am Sonntag.” According to information from the Rheinmetall CEO, France plans to drastically cut the budget for the MGCS project, the newspaper reports. “We have no decisions regarding the final budget,” said Papperger. The consequence would be delays: “If you have less money available, you won’t get any faster, and we’re already moving very slowly.”
The “Main Ground Combat System” (MGCS) project, launched at the initiative of the French and German governments, (MGCS) was launched at the initiative of the French and German governments with the aim of replacing the Leopard 2 and Leclerc main battle tanks with a cross-platform ground combat system by 2040, according to statements made when the project company for the tank initiative was founded.
In addition to Rheinmetall, the French Thales Group and KNDS are involved. The company emerged from the merger of the German tank manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and the French state-owned defense contractor Nexter.
As an interim solution until the launch of the MGCS, the German companies involved—Rheinmetall and KNDS Germany—had already initiated the development of a new main battle tank, unofficially dubbed the “Leopard 3” by the military press.
The first units are scheduled to enter service in the early 2030s, while the MGCS tank is not expected to be operational until the 2040s. “That’s an insane timeline. I can’t say today whether there will even be an MGCS,” Papperger told “Welt am Sonntag.”
On Tuesday, after prolonged disputes, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron announced the end of the multi-billion-euro FCAS (Future Combat Air Systems) fighter jet project. The companies Dassault and Airbus were unable to agree on a common approach during negotiations.
13.06.2026, 01:15
