Берлин болон Парис хотын хооронд хэрэгжүүлж буй Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) буюу газрын байлдааны үндсэн системийн ирээдүйн талаарх байр суурь зөрөлдлөө.
Францын Зэвсэгт хүчний штабын дарга, генерал Фабьен Мандон пүрэв гарагт хууль тогтоогчдод хандан хэлэхдээ, Герман улс 2018 оноос хойш үргэлжилж буй хамтарсан танкийн төслөөс гарсан гэж мэдэгдэв. Тэрээр энэ нь цэвэр цэргийн шийдвэр бус, улс төрийн шийдвэр байсан гэдгийг онцолсон байна. Францын тал Leclerc танкийг, Германы тал Leopard 2 танкийг тус тус орлох шинэ үеийн танкийг хамтран бүтээхээр төлөвлөж байсан юм.
Германы Батлан хамгаалах яам энэ мэдэгдлийг няцааж, төслөөс гараагүй гэдгээ мэдэгдлээ. Германы тал Украйны мөргөлдөөний сургамжийг үндэслэн төслийн төлөвлөгөөнд тохируулга хийх шаардлагатай байгааг дурдаад, хуягт техникийн ирээдүйн технологид анхаарлаа хандуулж буйгаа илэрхийлжээ.
Төслийн хүрээнд Франц улс Африкийн бүс нутагт ашиглахад тохиромжтой хөнгөн байлдааны машин бүтээхийг зорьж байсан бол Герман улс ОХУ-тай мөргөлдөх магадлал бүхий томоохон дайнд зориулагдсан хүнд хуягт техникийг илүүд үзэж байв. Генерал Мандоны хэлснээр, 2026 оны эхээр танилцуулсан аж үйлдвэрийн санал нь 2037 он гэхэд одоогийн танкуудыг орлох шаардлагад нийцэхгүй байсан тул Герман улс Leopard 2 танкийг үндэсний хэмжээнд шинэчлэх замыг сонгожээ.
Уг төслийг бүрмөсөн цуцлаагүй бөгөөд 2040-өөд оны сүүл хүртэл хойшлуулсан гэж генерал тайлбарлав. Үүнтэй холбогдуулан Парис хот Leclerc танкийг түр орлох шинэ загварыг үндэсний хэмжээнд боловсруулж эхлэхээ зарлалаа. Сануулахад, Франц, Германы хамтарсан Future Combat Air System (FCAS) сөнөөгч онгоц бүтээх томоохон төсөл ч мөн адил Dassault болон Airbus компаниудын маргааны улмаас зургаадугаар сард зогссон юм.
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France has accused Germany of abandoning a program that has been in the works for nearly a decade
Paris and Berlin are contradicting each other on the fate of a much-heralded joint main battle tank development project. French Chief of Defense Staff General Fabien Mandon has claimed Germany withdrew from the program, while the German government says the opposite.
Known as the Main Ground Combat System (MGCS), the project was launched back in 2018 with the aim of replacing both the French Leclerc and German Leopard 2 main battle tanks. It was a collaboration between the Amsterdam-headquartered KNDS – the EU’s largest tank maker – the German Rheinmetall weapons manufacturing giant, and the French Thales industrial group. Berlin even purchased a 40% stake in KNDS in June, with another 40% held by Paris, when the project was still in full swing.
On Thursday, Mandon told French lawmakers that the plans for the project had essentially fallen through. “The outcome isn’t good. We had hoped to build a future tank in cooperation with the Germans, but unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the Germans have withdrawn from the project,” he said during a hearing on next year’s budget.
According to Le Monde, the chief of the defense staff said Berlin made a political decision to halt cooperation. He reportedly stated that “the two army chiefs of staff had co-signed a joint document outlining their shared needs,” but the two neighbors were “no longer dealing with purely military choices.”
A German Defense Ministry spokesperson denied that claim, stating that Berlin merely wants to “adjust” the program to include the “lessons” of the Ukraine conflict. “We remain committed to equal partnership in the MGCS and are focusing on future technologies for armored combat,” the official said, according to Reuters.
Madon himself stated in a press release published after the hearing that an industrial proposal submitted in early 2026 “was incompatible with the need to replace the current tanks by 2037,” prompting Berlin to opt for a national effort to replace its Leopard 2 tank.
The general also maintained that a decade of work had “not been in vain” and the MGCS project was not scrapped but rather “pushed back to the late 2040s.” Paris would now launch its own national development of “an interim” replacement for its Leclerc tanks, he added.
The MGCS was intended to become a comprehensive platform for land warfare, with multiple weapon systems derived from it. The troubled project has reportedly been plagued by delays linked to political and industrial disputes. It is said Paris was aiming for a lighter combat vehicle suited for African deployments, while Berlin sought better heavy armor suitable for a major conflict, including with Russia.
The total cost of the project remains unclear, although a French parliamentary budget report suggested that Paris authorized a total of €212 million ($237.3 million) for the program over 2025 and 2026. The German government has not published any specific figures related to the project’s funding, but said in 2024 that the two partners were “each contributing 50% of the costs.”
Another major Franco-German armament program collapsed just months ago. Dubbed the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), it aimed to produce a next-generation fighter jet by 2040. The venture failed in June after an estimated €3.2 billion in sunk R&D costs due to irreconcilable disputes between aircraft makers Dassault and Airbus.
