DOPPELADLER.COM

German defense officials expect to sign up new European partners for the Franco-German Main Ground Combat System following a September conference in Berlin devoted to the effort, according to a government report to parliament.

The close-hold document, dated March and obtained by Defense News, notes that the international event is meant to initiate an “opening wave” of interested countries from the European Union, NATO and elsewhere – provided that Germany and France agree on the prerequisites.

One known applicant for the new tank program is the United Kingdom. In April, Germany officials made a point of saying that defense-acquisition leaders from Berlin and London had discussed cooperation on the program, with France still seemingly on the fence about admitting outsiders.

According to the report to the Bundestag, contracts in eight development areas are up for funding later this year: “mobility test bed,” “main effector, ammunition and turret,” “overall protection,” “collaborative combat,” "simulation test bed for crews,” “automated navigation and mobility,” “automated fire sequence” and “improved sensor suite.”

The nations plan to hash out additional, high-tech features in a round of contracts in 2023, the document states. They are “barrel-launched (non-) line-of-sight missile,” “high-energy laser system,” “high-power electromagnetics,” “unmanned combat aerial vehicle” and “hyper velocity missile integration.”

• Government Response
  
  https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/c ... /22102.htm

M. Joël Barre. [...] Pour l'instant, nous n'avons pas d'accord sur le MGCS. Les discussions doivent se poursuivre, en particulier entre Nexter et Rheinmetall sur la partie canon du futur char. Quoi qu'il en soit, vous avez raison de dire que les propositions de la semaine dernière sont une avancée très significative sur la voie de la concrétisation de ces projets dans les semaines qui viennent.