Executive summary
The Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) is a Franco-German programme to develop a next-generation replacement for the Leopard 2 and Leclerc main battle tanks (MBT), which has been structured since 2024 around eight industrial pillars under German leadership. In July 2026, a Franco-German press release reframed the project, presenting it as platform-independent technology rather than a jointly developed platform. This suggests that the joint platform work may be narrowing, raising the prospect that the MGCS could follow the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) in fracturing towards national programmes.
Key Facts & Figures
- The MGCS is a Franco-German programme intended to develop the next generation of main ground combat systems, which are designed to replace the Leopard 2 and Leclerc MBTs.
- The main participants are France and Germany, each with a 50% stake and the companies KNDS Deutschland, KNDS France, Rheinmetall and Thales.
- Preparations for the project began in 2012 and it was officially announced in July 2017 by the then German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the French President, Emmanuel Macron.
- Target fielding was initially planned for the 2030s, but was pushed back to the 2040s
- In April 2024, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the French and German defence ministers, Sébastien Lecornu and Boris Pistorius respectively, introducing the eight-pillar structure for the programme.
Background & Context
The eight-pillar structure introduced determined the industrial responsibilities of the participating companies and gave Germany a leading role in the project. The idea was to build a “system of systems” that would structure terrestrial combat as a multi-platform system for different armoured vehicles. The eight pillars introduced in the Memorandum of April 2024 are as follows:
- Pillar 1: MGCS platform with chassis and automated navigation under German leadership
- Pillar 2: Gun, turret and ammunition under Franco-German leadership. As a first step, different gun systems are to be developed nationally and a single system will be selected following comparative trials
- Pillar 3: Secondary armament, including, for example, guided missiles, under French leadership
- Pillar 4: Communications, command and control system as the “digital nervous system” under German-French leadership
- Pillar 5: Simulation environment under German-French leadership
- Pillar 6: Sensors, led by France
- Pillar 7: Protection and drone defence, led by Germany
- Pillar 8: Support, logistics and infrastructure under Franco-German leadership
The publication of these pillars made it clear that not everything was running smoothly. This is evident in pillar 2, which shows that no agreement was reached during this time regarding who would develop the turret, which is why the decision was postponed.
Current Status & Trends
On 17 July 2026, Germany and France held a Defence and Security Council meeting in Germany, during which strategic armament cooperation in the context of the MGCS, among other things, was discussed. The press release now refers to the MGCS as developing a platform-independent technology for armoured platforms and their networked interaction with MBTs.
One interpretation of this is that France and Germany no longer plan to develop a shared chassis for different platforms, but rather a cloud system similar to the one in FCAS. This would imply that the joint platform work concentrated in several pillars may no longer proceed as originally structured.
Consequently, this suggests the possibility of the MGCS fracturing into national programmes. It remains to be seen whether France and Germany will address this issue, or if the programme will indeed fracture. Should this materialise, the MGCS would become the second major Franco-German programme to narrow this way, after the FCAS shifted in 2026 from a joint fighter jet to a combat cloud. This recurring pattern raises the broader question of whether European defence and industrial cooperation can deliver joint capabilities, a matter that will need to be explored in the future.