Sometimes providence does things well. This is essentially what the German manufacturers involved in the production of battle tanks must think today, whereas according to a Bundeswehr report, the objective initially targeted for a first delivery of the new battle tank resulting from the program Franco-German MGCS, is no longer reachable. Indeed, if the intervention of the French and German ministers of defense made it possible to remove, at the end of last year, the industrial blockages around the FCAS combat aircraft program, the same problems remain around industrial and technological sharing at the within the MGCS program, exacerbated since the arrival within it of Rheinmetall. The fact is, today, 4 of the major pillars of the program, including that concerning the main armament of the armored vehicle as well as the armor technology used, are the subject of a dispute over territory between the French Nexter and the German Rheinmetall, without the arbitrations having been carried out to date. According the Bundeswehr report, this situation now makes it impossible to meet the objective of delivery in 2035, without however specifying the date on which it can actually begin to be delivered.
It would be very risky today, it is true, to announce a date, as the unknowns remain so important. For the French Nexter, there is no question, in fact, of seeing its initial technological attributions revised downwards due to the arrival, in 2019, of a second German industrialist in the program. As such, it must always respect, according to the bases of the agreement which gave rise to it, strict parity between French and German industries, the two countries contributing equally to its financing. On the German side, on the other hand, the perspective is different, especially since national manufacturers have not won their case regarding the first pillar of the FCAS program, which remains led by the French Dassault Aviation. Furthermore, from this point of view, the principle of "best athlete" put forward by Paris regarding the FCAS, should also apply to the MGCS, an area in which Rheinmetall and KMW believe they have much greater experience than Nexter due to of the park Leopard 2 installed, and recent commercial successes in this area.
Fundamentally, both points of view can be justified, depending on whether one has a French or German bias, which also explains the freezing of the program today, each being convinced that they are within their rights. For German manufacturers, the FCAS program, and especially its NGF combat aircraft, being with a strong perceived French connotation, it is logical that the MGCS is a program with a perceived German image, especially since the industry across the Rhine has an excellent international image and export market shares much higher than that of Nexter. In fact, by presenting the MGCS as the successor to the Leopard 2, German manufacturers believe that it will benefit from very efficient image transfer to win in competitions. France, for its part, explains that it has already made numerous concessions in this program to “make room” for Rheinmetall, and that the industrial sharing around the FCAS is much more balanced than presented by German industry. As a result, stalemate was inevitable at this point. But a question remains: is this impasse manipulated by German industry itself, which has already called for the program to be postponed for 10 years, or is it really fortuitous?
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The cheats!
It seems to me that "it's not the fault of the "deceivers"" if France has closed the Leclerc production line and if it has given up on modernizing it
Go and see the side of the “young Prime Minister that “I” gave to France” and the “dividends of peace” of this one;; managing a country and its vital interests is more difficult than entering the ENA or doing show jumping.
For the rest, you don't have to know anything about Germany and the Germans, never having stayed there and not having heard them talk about France and the French after a few beers to believe that you can work with them. without them directing…. and satisfy their interests first
[…] […]
[…] April 13, 2023 3 […]
[…] been made across the Rhine, suggesting that this deadline would no longer be met. Thus, according to the Bundeswehr, the industrial blockages that the program faces today, would prohibit […]
[…] It must be said that with the very strong rebound in demand in Europe and around the world for battle tanks, in particular for immediately available models, the question goes well beyond a dispute over image. Indeed, if Rheinmetall were to win its case, not only would it have complete freedom to produce its KF51 Panther without interference from KMW, but it would also, in turn, have a right to review the versions which followed the A4, including the A7, A7+ and A8 which are now popular and even retained by several armed forces in recent months, including by the Bundeswehr. For KMW, on the other hand, it is a question of maintaining the central role in the design of German heavy tanks, both for the present generation and for generations to come, in particular through the very controversial Franco-German Main Ground Control System program. or MGCS. […]
[…] 2024-2030. Thus, while across the Rhine, industrialists and the military have agreed to postpone the schedule of the Franco-German Main Ground Combat System program by 10 years (at least) to replace German tanks. Leopard 2 and French Leclerc initially for 2035, no […]
[…] and even to worry, since many declarations across the Rhine seemed to point to a probable slippage of the program beyond 2040, and more probably […]