France is considering a reserve tank given the delays slowing down the Mgcs (Main Ground Combat System), the Franco-German project for the next-generation European tank.
On April 8, the French government presented its plan to update the military programming law (Lpm) to the Council of Ministers, which strengthens the budget effort by 36 billion euros in the face of worsening threats and the possibility of a conflict with Russia.
This multi-year programming provided a total of 413 billion euros for the needs of the armed forces for the years 2024 to 2030. The Lpm (loi de programmation militaire), whose update was already planned at the time of its adoption at the end of 2023, sets the overall allocation and priorities over several years.
Among the priorities listed by the Minister of the Armed Forces Catherine Vautrin is the possible development of a new “intermediate” tank to fill a capability gap, since the current Leclerc tanks are obsolete and the Franco-German Mgcs project is still far off, notes Defense News.
At the same time, Paris is also intervening in other strategic defense programs, from the sixth-generation fighter Fcas program to air defense systems, missile artillery, and the modernization of the Rafale fleet.
All the details.
AN INTERMEDIATE TANK TO BRIDGE THE MGCS DELAY
France is in talks with manufacturers to develop an intermediate solution intended to replace the main Leclerc tank while waiting for the future next-generation European tank, in collaboration with Berlin.
As reported last week by Politico, this comes after increasing pressure from parliamentarians and industry for the government to acknowledge that the Franco-German Main Ground Combat System tank could face delays and that French land forces need a provisional solution when the Leclerc combat vehicles are retired by the end of the 2030s.
“We must not waste 2026,” French deputy François Cormier-Bouligeon, a member of the National Assembly Defense Committee, told journalists at the end of March.
WHERE THE FRANCO-GERMAN NEXT-GENERATION TANK STANDS
Just a year ago, the Mgcs Project Company (Mpc) was founded in Cologne, Germany, a company born from collaboration between defense companies Rheinmetall, Knds, and Thales to handle the implementation of the Franco-German Mgcs program.
Launched by France and Germany in 2017 (alongside the parallel Fcas for the sixth-generation fighter), the Mgcs is the program for the future ground combat system. Starting from 2040, the Franco-German Mgcs should replace the Leopard 2 and Leclerc tanks, in service respectively with the German and French armies. The project has always risked failure due to unresolved divergences between Berlin and Paris.
In April 2024 the two countries managed to unblock the file by agreeing on the distribution of industrial tasks. The signed protocol provides for an equal split among the companies participating in the project: Knds, the Franco-German consortium formed by the defense groups Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (Kmw, Germany) and Nexter Defence Systems (France), and Rheinmetall, based in Düsseldorf.
However, the French minister has now explained that the Mgcs project is about ten years behind schedule.
THE SLOWDOWNS CAUSED BY BERLIN…
According to Vautrin, the delay is linked to the German decision to start an autonomous program for the new Leopard 3 tanks. This situation forces France to cover the gap between the end of the Leclerc’s life cycle, expected in 2038, and the arrival of the Mgcs, not expected before the early 2040s.
THE WORK ENTRUSTED TO KNDS
“Our current Leclerc tanks will last until 2040, while the Mgcs project will take about a decade… We need a provisional tank, which will likely be a Knds Germany or Knds France platform, but the decision has not yet been made, with a French-designed turret,” Vautrin said during the press conference, reported by Breaking Defense.
The provisional platform could be based on a Knds Germany hull with a Knds France turret, the American outlet emphasizes. Vautrin specified that the turret will be French “in any case,” while talks between the Directorate General for Armaments and manufacturers are still in the early stages.
36 BILLION MORE FOR DEFENSE IN THE 2026-2030 PROGRAMMING
Returning to the increase in defense spending, this is part of the update to the French military programming law, which initially provided for an allocation of 400 billion euros for the 2024-2030 period. The government intends to add an additional 36 billion euros between 2026 and 2030 to strengthen the armed forces’ capabilities.
From now until 2030, among other things, an additional 8.5 billion euros will be allocated to ammunition purchases, for a total of 26 billion euros over the entire period. Two billion euros more will be allocated to drones of all types, bringing the effort in this sector to 8.4 billion. 10.1 billion are allocated to the space sector.
Although personnel-related goals are not a focal point of the updated military law, Vautrin stated that the country plans to have 50,000 reservists by 2030, bringing the total to 330,000 trained forces by the end of the decade, including the current 275,000 active-duty military and civilians, reports Le Monde.
FCAS, MEDIATION UNDERWAY BETWEEN DASSAULT AND AIRBUS
On the aeronautical front, the minister reported that mediation is underway on the Future Combat Air System (Fcas) program, the joint Franco-German-Spanish project for the next-generation fighter. The program is stalled due to disagreements between Dassault Aviation and Airbus over industrial leadership and work distribution.
Two “qualified external individuals” are conducting negotiations to address intellectual property, work distribution, and airworthiness certificates, with a conclusion expected by the end of April.
Dassault has confirmed that talks aim to reach an agreement to allow the project to continue. Although on April 1 CEO Éric Trappier stated he is “not a man of co-management.”
EURODRONE PROGRAM SHELVED
Furthermore, the Eurodrone project, a European program currently under development for the first remotely piloted system born from European collaboration among industry players: Airbus, Dassault, and Leonardo, no longer appears in the updated French defense budget. Vautrin explained that “at present, the project is not proceeding satisfactorily.”
The government has also suspended plans for the purchase of the Patroller Male drone produced by Safran.
AIR DEFENSE, MORE SAMP/T NG SYSTEMS BY 2030
Finally, France intends to accelerate the acquisition of the long-range air defense system Samp/T NG.
The Franco-Italian Samp/T air defense system is developed by the Italo-French consortium Eurosam (formed by Mbda Italy, Mbda France, and Thales). It represents one of the cornerstones of Ukraine’s air defense, becoming essential to intercept missiles and drones launched from Moscow.
In 2024, the Italian and French Defense Ministers Crosetto and Lecornu also wrote a letter to their European counterparts praising the system’s advantages over the Patriot. The French and Italian armies will be the first customers, receiving the Samp/T NG starting in 2026. Ukraine has received at least two Samp/T systems as donations, with at least one in use to defend the Kiev area.
Last month Les Echos reported that Paris and Rome will implement the new version of the Samp/T system, which is beginning to attract interest in many countries.
Paris’s goal is to have ten systems by 2030 instead of the initially planned eight, maintaining the target of twelve units by 2035.
