France’s defence minister received his German counterpart on Friday to ink a deal between the two countries to build a next-generation battle tank.

Defence ministers of France and Germany met in Paris this Friday to ratify an agreement on a new joint tank project called the Main Ground Combat System (MGCS).

This formal agreement kick-starts the development of the first phase of the armoured vehicle, dubbed the ‘tank of the future’ – a project worth billions of euros.

The new battle tank is set to replace Germany’s Leopard 2 tank and France’s Leclerc.

  • Neuromancer
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    914 days ago

    I would like to see a modern tank that is greener, and I don’t mean that as a joke.

    The amount of fuel consumed is insane. It creates logistics problems if nothing else.

    • DarkThoughts
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      1714 days ago

      Moving 60-70 tons requires a lot of power, regardless if they’re electric or not. Next gen tanks are also likely to be hybrids, not for the environment’s sake, but to be quieter when they have to or simply as a backup / redundancy.

        • DarkThoughts
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          113 days ago

          I doubt we’ll see mobile railguns anytime soon. Lasers will likely be extra vehicles instead of being part of a MBT so that they can fill more batteries in the hull. But afaik MGCS is likely going to be a multi platform solution anyway.

          • @[email protected]
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            112 days ago

            Thanks for the corrections. Wow, MGCS first production rolling off the line in 2035.

            It’s encouraging to see France and Germany working together on this, especially with such a long planning horizon.

            Whether they’re comfortable with the role or not, they’re a critical part of the democratic vanguard in the world. People have started taking democracy as a given… it’s scary.

        • @Agent641
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          112 days ago

          Unshielded nuclear reactor it us, tgen!

          Every tank kill will result in a 10-15 kiloton excursion.

      • Neuromancer
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        514 days ago

        The m1 consumes about 6 gallons per mile.

        In a large war that is a lot of fuel and supply lines.

        I know of Iraq/Afghanistan. They were testing solar to power the bases because they required so much diesel, and those were the convoys being attacked.

        I know people will call it woke but we need to green up the military to protect lives.

        • @ThePyroPython
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          714 days ago

          Well the military already considers climate change a threat to national security.

          • @gaael
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            1114 days ago

            I hope they start shooting billionaires private jets soon then.

          • Neuromancer
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            -214 days ago

            I would agree. As the climate changes, what is important will change.

            I think the average person outside of America doesn’t grasp the size of America. We have enough water, land, etc to feed our population if we plan correctly. Other countries don’t have that luxury and wars can be caused over a shortage of water and food.

            • @[email protected]
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              013 days ago

              You are busy fucking that up though. Through fracking for example.

              Also, plan correctly? When is the US going to try to start doing that?

              • @RubberElectrons
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                112 days ago

                We are, collectively, working to change that.

                Redwood materials is trying to close the loop on lithium recycling from ev purposes, we can expect us military-industrial companies to take advantage of the cost savings, if for no other reason than to say “here’s a silent tank, we’re pocketing 60% of the unit cost for… Development… Reasons”

                From acorns grow tremendous trees, it’s likely there will be a big change from an unexpected avenue.

              • Neuromancer
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                -313 days ago

                I don’t frack. So I’m not sure you mean by you. Nor do I support fracking. Gas should be expensive.

        • DarkThoughts
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          114 days ago

          The M1 generally has a higher fuel consumption due to its turbine engine. Instead of babbling nonsense for media attention, maybe suggest some solutions though. Because superchargers along the battlefield aren’t one of them.

      • Skua
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        414 days ago

        The popularity of the new Fallout show tells me that it’s definitely time to revive the Chrysler TV-8 concept

    • @[email protected]
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      314 days ago

      Didn’t the Abram X showcase an all electric drive mode that could run independent and silent for a bit?

      • @ours
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        114 days ago

        Or at least to run sensors and turret without a roaring turbine.

        • @[email protected]
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          213 days ago

          The Abrams has had an APU for a couple of revisions, doesn’t need to run the main engine for that.

      • Neuromancer
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        -514 days ago

        I have not heard that. That would be cool.

        There has been talk of moving more electric but I haven’t seen much.

        The problem is the haters. If done right it’ll make our military even more lethal.

  • RubberDuck
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    713 days ago

    Last time they did we ended up with Leclerc and leopard 2, no?

    • @WolfhoundRO
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      313 days ago

      And now they may end up with Leclerc 2 and Leopard 3

      • @[email protected]
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        913 days ago

        I meant like all German armoured vehicles, like Leopards, Gepards, Pumas, Tigers, Panthers.

        Who am I kidding tho, it’s going to be a wank and probably be named something like Panzerkampfwagen Zweitausendfünfundzwanzig Russlandgehundfickdichselbst in German, and something like Charabialeeraux (pronounced “arrr”) in French.

    • @Maalus
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      213 days ago

      Doing that gives a permanent -15% malus to gearbox reliability

      • @[email protected]
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        213 days ago

        That will only give more jobs and power to the - naturally unionized - gearbox maintenance industry it will spring up, which will somehow capture the whole German MIC - and I mean both factories - due to only them being able to navigate the byzantine equipment requisition forms - all on paper and submitted in triplicate to the EU, the German government, and the municipality of Schmedeswurtherwesterdeich.

  • DarkThoughts
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    214 days ago

    Glad to hear that things are finally moving along. Took them long enough to come to their various agreements regarding this system.

  • @AnUnusualRelic
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    214 days ago

    This means that in three years, the Germans are going to drop out.

    • @[email protected]
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      13 days ago

      They got to lead development on this in exchange for France getting lead on the FCAS, so I kind of doubt it, short of the FCAS failing.

  • AutoTL;DRB
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    114 days ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    France’s defence minister received his German counterpart on Friday to ink a deal between the two countries to build a next-generation battle tank.

    Defence ministers of France and Germany met in Paris this Friday to ratify an agreement on a new joint tank project called the Main Ground Combat System (MGCS).

    This formal agreement kick-starts the development of the first phase of the armoured vehicle, dubbed the ‘tank of the future’ – a project worth billions of euros.

    Ministers announced the distribution of contracts for the manufacturers is expected to be finalised by the end of the year – “an ambitious goal,” they told journalists.

    Developing a next-generation tank showcases how Europe is expanding its defence industry, attempting to compete with rising military technology from countries like India and China.

    But Boris Pistorius reassured the room claiming the common accord is a “sign of our mutual trust despite the current geopolitical context.”


    The original article contains 357 words, the summary contains 151 words. Saved 58%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!