The Franco-German Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) project, which will replace the Leopard 2 and Leclerc main battle tanks (MBTs) with a cross-platform combat system by 2040, met with great interest from conference participants at Defence iQ’s 2025 International Armoured Vehicles conference (IAV 2025), held in Farnborough from 21-23 January. Part of the reason for this is how significantly removed MGCS is from its predecessors in terms of the concept and its technologies.
A multi-platform concept
Colonel Armin Dirks, head of operations in the MGCS joint project team, explained the basis of the project at IAV 2025 on 21 January. The extensive catalogue of capabilities required for the MGCS – combined with the framework conditions of having a weight of less than 50 tonnes, fewer personnel and the ability to grow – inevitably led to a multi-platform concept, Col Dirks explained.
A manned gun vehicle, a manned support vehicle with missiles (including hyper-velocity missiles) and an unmanned support vehicle with additional sensors and beyond-line-of-sight effectors are what is currently planned for MGCS to fulfill all its requirements. The vehicles will be built on the same hull in order to achieve the same mobility, a similar appearance (for deception reasons) and the same logistics considerations as far as possible.
Speed and precision
Col Dirks noted that the modern battlefield is characterised by comprehensive and perpetual reconnaissance, which leads to a constant threat to static forces in particular. This means that one’s own forces must be constantly on the move and able to engage the enemy with rapid, precise fire. The consequence of this is extensive system automation in order to relieve commanders and platoon and company leaders of routine tasks.
This includes the recording of all ballistic data, target identification, display and assignment and weapon selection. This allows the command personnel to concentrate on decision making and, as the man-in-the-loop, ultimately decide whether to engage a target. However, the first shot must then be a kill and preferably a destruction hit, said Col Dirks.
Next step in the project
The next important step for MGCS will be to conclude the development contract in the autumn of 2025 before the German federal elections; now the planning is for the fall of 2025 after the government is formed. From the German procurement office’s perspective, the schedule can be adhered to, as the MGCS specifications are essentially complete.
Meanwhile, a few days after Col Dirks made his presentation at IAV 2025, it was announced that Thales, KNDS Deutschland, KNDS France and Rheinmetall Landsysteme had signed the articles of association to create the MGCS Project Company GmbH in Paris on 23 January in the presence of French Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu and the German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius. Creation of the company will allow a contract to be negotiated with the german Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw), acting on behalf of the two states through a German-Franco combined project team.
The MGCS Project Company, which will be based in Cologne, Germany, will be equally owned by the parties, 25% each, with the workshare divided equally between Germany and France.
Bridge to the MGCS
Until the MGCS arrives in the 2040s, France and Germany’s armoured forces must remain capable of fighting and prevailing in tank vs tank engagements with the enemy. To address this, noted Col Dirks, the German Army is currently converting two thirds of its tank fleet to the standard Leopard 2A7 MBT. With a service life of around 20 years, these tanks will be operational until the MGCS is introduced. Meanwhile, the Bundeswehr has ordered 123 Leopard 2A8 MBTs to replace Leopard 2A6s supplied to Ukraine. Most of the Leopard 2A8 will be used to equip the German tank brigade in Lithuania and are to be delivered by 2030.
In order to close any remaining gaps until the MGCS is fully operational, capabilities that can be realised with a ‘bridging solution’ are currently being investigated by the BAAINBw. Based on the latest Leopard 2s, and still as a ‘single-platform’ concept, new technologies are being identified that can be realised with this bridging solution. In addition to further digitalisation and use of unmanned aerial vehicles for reconnaissance and combat, this could also include a 130 mm main gun with automatic loader. A decision on the configuration is to be made in the second half of 2026, while introduction into service could take place in the early 2030s.
Due to the drastic changes compared to its predecessors, this MBT bridging solution could be given the designation ‘Leopard 3’.
Time pressure
Even if the timelines of 2030 and 2040 seem generous, the parties involved have no time to lose. The programmes are not only technically demanding, but are also the focus of political attention. It is important to provide the necessary long-term funding so that the German Army and Bundeswehr can defend themselves against foreseeable threats in good time. Not only do submarines take up to 10 years to be introduced, as Pistorius noted in December 2024, but a similar timeframe is also required for MBTs.
