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KF51 vs EMBT: Speckled foil duel between Rheinmetall and KNDS around the MGCS program

June 14, 2022June 14, 2022

Like the SCAF next-generation combat aircraft program, the Main Ground Combat System, or MGCS, program, aimed at designing the replacement for the German Leopard 2 and French Leclerc tanks, is encountering many difficulties. In addition to the deep doctrinal differences which oppose in the specifications between the Army and the Bundeswehr, the industrial sharing between the main actors, the German Rheinmetall on the one hand, and the groups Nexter and Krauss Maffei Wegman gathered in the KNDS group on the other, is also the subject of intense tension. Indeed, the Munich group, which is also very politically introduced to the Bundestag, the German parliament, is not from…

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MGCS: Italy, Poland, Norway and Great Britain could join the program from 2023

April 11thApril 11th

Resulting from a preliminary study launched jointly by France and Germany in 2012, the Main Ground Combat System program, or MGCS, was officially launched in 2017 by Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel to replace in 2035 the French Leclerc tanks and the German Leopard 2s, alongside 3 other emblematic programs of Franco-German cooperation in the defense industry, the Future Air Combat System or SCAF to replace the Rafale and Typhoon in 2040, the Common Indect Fire System or CIFS to replacing self-propelled guns and multiple rocket launchers in 2035, and the Maritime Airborne Warfare System or MAWS to…

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SCAF, MGCS… Will the new European military equipment arrive too late?

November 29, 2021January 26 2022

In an interview given to the site lesecho.fr, Franck Haun, the CEO of the KNDS group which brings together the German Krauss Maffei Wegman and the French Nexter, called on the French and German governments to accelerate the Main Ground Combat System or MGCS program, which according to him, at the current rate of things, should not reach a delivery before 2040 and even 2045. If the considerations of Franck Haun are above all industrial, calling in particular to widen the program on the European scene, the fact remains no less true than an objective analysis of the schedules of current programs, MGCS like SCAF, the combat aircraft program...

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KNDS EMBT tank will be much more than an industrial demonstrator

February 1 2021February 3 2021

The E-MBT tank from the Franco-German company KNDS caused a sensation at the EuroSatory 2018 exhibition, proudly enthroned at the heart of the exhibition as the symbol of Franco-German cooperation in the field of defense equipment, established in 2015 when the German armor specialist Krauss Maffei Wegman and the French Nexter, respectively at the origin of the Leopard 2 tank and the Leclerc, created the KNDS joint venture with equal power. And the E-MBT, for Enhanced Main Battle Tank, reflected this balance perfectly, with a Leclerc turret perched on a Leopard 2 body.

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Is France sacrificing part of its Defense Industry on the altar of cooperation with Germany?

December 15, 2020December 17, 2020

It's official, the KNDS company, which brings together the French Nexter and the German Krauss-Maffei Wegman, and which was until now piloted by a two-headed structure made up of the CEO of Nexter Stephan Mayer and his counterpart from KMW, will see its structure evolve, and will now be steered by a 9-person board of directors chaired by Philippe Petitcolin, the CEO of the French engine manufacturer Safran, while the company will pass under the direction of Frank Haun, hitherto boss of KMW, who will be replaced in this position by the vice-president of the company, Ralf Ketzel, while for his part, Stéphane Mayer will leave Nexter, without his successor having been named so far.…

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Does the MGCS tank program respond to Franco-German operational and industrial challenges?

December 2, 2020March 14, 2021

Upon his arrival at the Elysée after his victory in the 2017 presidential elections, French President Emmanuel Macron quickly set about launching a series of major defense programs with Berlin, aimed both at bringing the two countries' positions closer together in terms of Defense than to take advantage of the possible synergies between the two industrial bases and defense technologies. Four main programs emerged, the SCAF in the field of combat aircraft, the CIFS in the field of artillery, the MAWS in the field of maritime patrol, and the Main Ground Combat System, or MGCS, program in the field of chariots of…

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Franco-German military projects: between advances and blockages

March 24, 2020March 28, 2020

For more than ten years, France has been looking for a lasting European partner for its military collaboration projects, both operational and industrial. This began in 2010 with the Lancaster House Accords then, following the failure of a first Franco-British SCAF program, a political and industrial rapprochement between Paris and Berlin. Industrial distributions and political deadlocks In terms of military needs, the rapprochement between France and Germany very quickly became evident. Three major topics have thus emerged: SCAF: the future air combat system to replace the Rafale and Eurofighter fighters MGCS (Main Ground Combat System): replacement of the Leclerc tanks (France) and…

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President Macron opens the door to Polish participation in the Franco-German MGCS tank program

February 4 2020February 6 2020

Traveling to Poland on February 4, E. Macron seems ready to begin a diplomatic and political rapprochement with Poland, even though Paris and Warsaw have been somewhat cold for a few years. If military subjects are at the heart of the recent quarrels between France and Poland, they could this time allow their reconciliation. The President of the Republic has indeed mentioned the possibility of integrating Poland into the future combat tank program, the MGCS (Main Ground Combat System), possibly within the framework of permanent structured cooperation (CSP or PESCO in English). ) of the European Union. A…

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The French State refuses to hand over the majority of KNDS to Rheinmettal

May 16thMay 16th

During an eventful hearing by the Defense Committee of the National Assembly, in particular because of the very polemical and approximate biases of certain parliamentarians on the subject of French arms exports to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the Minister des Armées, Florence Parly, responded to the demands of the Rheinmetall company concerning the control of the KNDS company. As a reminder, the KNDS Company, which brings together the French Nexter and the German Krauss Maffei Wegman, is co-owned 50% by the French state, and 50% by the Baude family, which owned KMW. The second German player in the armored car market, Rheinmetall, has joined forces with the Baude family...

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