BERLIN, Oct 9 (Reuters) – Germany on Friday dismissed remarks by the head of the French armed forces who said Berlin had decided to quit a troubled Franco-German tank project.
The dispute is the latest sign of strain in Franco-German defence cooperation after the two countries scrapped a joint next-generation fighter jet project in June.
The project involves tank maker KNDS, a holding company created between France’s Nexter and Germany’s Krauss-Maffei-Wegmann (KMW). Germany’s Rheinmetall and France’s Thales are also involved.
Berlin and Paris agreed in 2017 to work on the Franco-German Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) tank to succeed the German Leopard 2 and the French Leclerc, but the project has been marred by delays and infighting between the countries.
“Germany and France announced several months ago that they would adjust their joint Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) cooperation program, thereby incorporating the lessons learned from Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” a spokesperson for the German Defence Ministry said.
“This does not mean the MGCS project has failed. On the contrary: We remain committed to equal partnership in the MGCS and are focusing on future technologies for armored combat.”
The head of the French armed forces, Fabien Mandon, had described the result of the joint programme as “not good” at a parliamentary committee hearing on Thursday.
“We have noted that the Germans have decided to drop out of the project,” he said.
Later, the French Defence Ministry issued a statement on behalf of Mandon, stressing the work on the joint tank had not been in vain.
It said the programme was continuing and retained “major importance, with a renewed focus on enhanced connectivity, collaborative combat, automation and robotics”.
In June, Germany and France scrapped a major project to develop and build a new-generation fighter jet, bowing to industrial rivalries over Europe’s most ambitious defence programme.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron had concluded that there was no prospect of breaking months of deadlock between arms firms involved in the plan, German officials said at the time.
(Reporting by Sabine Siebold in Germany and John Irish in Paris, Editing by Xevi Fontdegloria)
