France and Germany on Friday signed a deal to jointly develop a new battle tank that the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency said has been "billed as a game changer in modern warfare."
The advanced tank project is called the Main Ground Combat System (MGCS), and plans shared by the two North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members indicate it will include protective drones, as well as employ artificial intelligence and laser technology.
Germany and France have been at odds recently over their support of Ukraine in its war against invading Russians. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has taken a cautious approach in supplying military aid to Kyiv, preferring not to upset Russia and cause an escalation to the war. French President Emmanuel Macron, on the other hand, has said his country "will do whatever it takes" to prevent a Russian victory, even suggesting Western boots on the ground as a future possibility.
Despite these public differences, France's Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu welcomed his German counterpart, Boris Pistorius, to a Paris ceremony on Friday to sign a memorandum that laid out details on the construction of the MGCS.
"Today's signing is a real milestone," Pistorius said to reporters at the ceremony, according to AFP.
Lecornu added, "This is not the tank of the future but the future of the tank."
Talks to build the MGCS have been ongoing for years, with Germany and France initially agreeing to build the tank in 2017. The armored fighting vehicles are meant to eventually replace French Leclerc and German Leopard tanks.
After some delays, Lecornu and Pistorius announced in March that their countries had agreed on how to divide the work on the MGCS to move forward with the project.
According to the scant details available on the project, the MGCS will not be just a standalone tank but a battle system made up of a manned vehicle with unmanned drones that will protect the unit.
During the Friday ceremony, the defense officials outlined what each country would focus on in the MGCS' development. Germany will take the lead in building the chassis along with aspects related to the tanks' protection and drone defense. France will work on armament, guided missiles and the tank's sensors.
Other aspects of the tank system's creation will be jointly shared, including the gun and turret and the communication/command system.
"The tank system will have cutting-edge technology that could usher in a new era in land warfare," AFP wrote.
While Germany and France remain two of Ukraine's closest allies in its war with Russia—despite their differences on how to support Kyiv—Ukrainian soldiers shouldn't expect to be driving a MGCS in the foreseeable future. The tanks are not anticipated to have operational units ready until 2035 before being completed between 2035 and 2040.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jon Jackson is an Associate Editor at Newsweek based in New York. His focus is on reporting on the Ukraine ... Read more
