End of the controversy over the future Franco-German tank program. On Thursday, Paris and Berlin gave new impetus to the (MGCS) project, stalled by rivalries between industrialists, by agreeing on the definition of the needs expected by the two armies of the future system.
Under the gaze of the two Ministers of Defense, Boris Pistorius and Sébastien Lecornu, the Chiefs of Staff of the Army of each country signed the High Level Common Operational Requirements Document (HLCORD), a document that establishes the “common operational requirements” that the future system must meet, an AFP journalist noted.
“This stage will allow us to work, until the end of December” on the definition of the different pillars of the technological blocks to be developed and the responsibility of each State, explained Boris Pistorius.
Taking control of the program
The ceremony took place at the Evreux air base, which hosts a Franco-German tactical transport squadron comprising pilots, mechanics and C130J aircraft from both countries.
A sign of a recovery of control of the program initiated after a meeting between the two, the French Minister recalled that “it is the two States that carry out the project at the political and diplomatic level, but it is also the two States that are clients, buyers.
The signing of this HLCORD occurs five years after the approval in April 2018 of its equivalent for the Future Air Combat System (Scaf). The Scaf and MGCS projects were launched at the same time, in July 2017, and the German Bundestag calls for both programs to move forward at the same pace.
Drawing the consequences of the fighting in Ukraine
In addition to industrial rivalries, which the two men were careful not to mention, Sébastien Lecornu attributed the delay of the MGCS program to the attention paid for a long time to the Scaf, “which mobilized the two teams a lot.” the need to guarantee credits to finance it (500 million euros planned by the French side until 2030) and the time necessary to “draw the consequences of the ground combat in Ukraine.” For the coming months, “we have given our teams the mandate to make it a top priority,” according to him.
The MGCS (Main Land Combat System) aims to replace the French Leclerc tanks and the German Leopard 2 from 2035. Carried out under German direction, the project foresees a 50/50 distribution of the workload between the manufacturers French and Germans. More than a traditional tank, the MGCS is a “system of systems”: a tank itself accompanied by other vehicles, manned or unmanned.
It will include important technological “advances”, explained Sébastien Lecornu, in reference to the use of artificial intelligence, drones to protect the tank or the incorporation of guided or electromagnetic weapons or electronic warfare systems.
The two men were also open to the incorporation of interested countries into the program, such as Italy or the Netherlands, undoubtedly with observer status initially. But not before the technological pillars are defined and distributed. “We can only invite other countries after we have defined what we want to have,” argued Boris Pistorius.
Source: BFM TV
