Main Ground Combat System

The Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) is a project launched in 2017 by Germany and France, originally aiming to replace their current Leopard 2 and Leclerc main battle tanks. Coordinated by Germany, in contrast to the other major Franco-German program launched in 2018 (the Future Combat Air System implemented under French lead), the MGCS will not be a single armoured fighting vehicle, but a series of systems conceived around said vehicle. It was to be developed and manufactured by KNDS (a holding company founded in 2015 by German arms producer KMW and the French defence firm Nexter Systems) and Rheinmetall, which joined the project in 2019. Rheinmetall's addition to the MGCS did not go without tensions between Paris and Berlin, as development leadership of the various pillars of the program as well industrial production were supposed to be equally split between the two countries. Ultimately, an agreement was reached, with Nexter, KMW and Rheinmetall leading the development of 1/3 of the program's pillars each, with a guarantee that Nexter will manufacture 50% of the systems as originally agreed, while the remaining half is shared between the two German contractors. Full operational capability (FOC) of the ground combat system is expected by 2040. According to Frank Haun, CEO of KNDS, various countries have shown interest in joining the MGCS, including Italy, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Discussions are still ongoing on the matter as of 2022.