Drones, AI and laser weapons
France and Germany develop combat system
March 22, 2024, 11:57 a.m
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France and Germany will develop a new land combat system that goes beyond the mere use of battle tanks. Defense Minister Pistorius said this was agreed upon during negotiations in Berlin. He speaks of a “historic moment”.
Germany and France have achieved a breakthrough in negotiations to develop a joint battle tank. Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced in Berlin after a meeting with France’s department head Sébastien Lecornu that the modalities for developing a new joint land combat system had been agreed.
“This is more than a milestone, this is a historic moment,” said Pistorius. Specifically, the project is about a new system in land combat that goes beyond the pure use of battle tanks, as the minister explained. Lecornu said the weapons system will be a “generational leap.”
MGCS, in which Germany will take the lead, is the counterpart to the air combat system of the future, which will be led by France. The ground combat system will follow the Leopard and Leclerc battle tanks, but will have fundamentally different capabilities, such as linking to drones, artificial intelligence and new types of laser weapons.
Both sides also agreed on the distribution of all tasks for the project. The production will be divided equally, said Pistorius.