{"id":72647,"date":"2026-06-16T09:02:51","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T09:02:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2026\/06\/16\/knds-proposes-mixed-french-german-tank-to-replace-frances-leclerc\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:35:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:35:09","slug":"knds-proposes-mixed-french-german-tank-to-replace-frances-leclerc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2026\/06\/16\/knds-proposes-mixed-french-german-tank-to-replace-frances-leclerc\/","title":{"rendered":"KNDS proposes mixed French-German tank to replace France\u2019s Leclerc"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">PARIS \u2014 KNDS is proposing a main battle tank with a turret and gun developed in France and mounted on the hull of Germany\u2019s Leopard 2 as an intermediate solution to replace the French Army\u2019s aging Leclerc tanks, which are expected to reach the end of their service life before the arrival of a next-generation tank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The tank proposal unveiled at the Eurosatory defense show on Monday featured an unmanned turret with a 120mm auto-loader smoothbore gun developed by KNDS France, with the possibility of upgrading the cannon to 140mm. KNDS said it aims to deliver the first units of the tank, dubbed Capint, short for intermediate capability, in the 2030s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With the French-German project to develop the Main Ground Combat System delayed and not expected to arrive until the mid-2040s, France will need a replacement for its Leclerc tank somewhere in the next decade. The country intends for the interim capability to be a building block of MGCS, Gen. Olivier Coquet, head of the French Army\u2019s technical section, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/global\/europe\/2026\/06\/15\/french-army-shows-leclerc-tank-with-once-mocked-anti-drone-cage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\">said on Sunday<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe are already working to create what will be the combat of tomorrow,\u201d KNDS CEO Jean-Paul Alary said in a press conference at the defense show outside Paris on Monday. \u201cMaybe the combat of tomorrow, the ambition of MGCS, will come a little bit earlier than the project itself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2026\/06\/15\/french-army-shows-leclerc-tank-with-once-mocked-anti-drone-cage\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/V5A2751-001.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">French army shows Leclerc tank with once-mocked anti-drone cage<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Once derided as primitive, roof-mounted armor variants have been adopted by both Russian and Ukrainian forces as drone threats proliferate.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The goal is to present France\u2019s Directorate General for Armament with a demonstrator tank as early as 2030 and deliver the first production units in 2035, followed by deployment to the forces in 2037, said Julien Brunet, product line manager for main battle tanks and reconnaissance vehicles at KNDS France, in a separate briefing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The proposed tank already represents the beginnings of a fourth-generation combat system, according to Brunet, who described such a platform as one with fully integrated AI, a combination of passive, reactive and active protection, counter-drone warfare and the ability to engage beyond line of sight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The plan is for the intermediate tank to already include concepts initially planned for MGCS, including one or two robotic wingmen, KNDS France CEO Nicolas Groult said in the press conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1200\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DSCF3776.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-120633\" srcset=\"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DSCF3776.jpg.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DSCF3776.jpg.jpg?resize=300,225 300w, https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DSCF3776.jpg.jpg?resize=768,576 768w, https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DSCF3776.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,768 1024w, https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DSCF3776.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1152 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">French Army Chief of Staff Gen. Pierre Schill speaks to defense industry executives in front of a proposed KNDS main battle tank at the company&#8217;s stand at the Eurosatory defense exhibition near Paris on June 15, 2026. (Rudy Ruitenberg\/staff)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Groult said KNDS already tested firing on-the-move in Portugal in January. \u201cSo it\u2019s not a concept, it\u2019s not a drawing, it\u2019s something that we are confident that can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whether France and Germany will continue with the MGCS project is a political decision, but abandoning it would be \u201cvery bad news\u201d for Europe, Alary said in response to questions about the future of the project. The two countries earlier this month abandoned a plan to jointly develop a sixth-generation fighter jet as part of the Future Combat Air System program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The proposed French intermediate tank will carry a crew of three in an \u201cextremely well protected citadel\u201d at the front of the vehicle, with a combination of passive composite protection as well as reactive and active protection, Brunet said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Active protection measures will be distributed, with some mounted on the turret and others on the chassis, according to Brunet. He said KNDS will use defensive effectors that are \u201cpotentially a bit different\u201d from those of the Trophy active-protection system, with the company having in-house solutions to deal with hard-to-stop threats, though he said details are classified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Robot wingmen will need to be big enough to keep up with the main platform, though small enough to keep costs under control, Brunet said. The number of robots accompanying the main battle tank will gradually be increased, and their level of passive protection will depend on the value of each robot, according to the executive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">KNDS\u2019s French and German arms are in talks to determine which parts will be provided by each business, and protection of the chassis as well as the interfaces will probably be French, according to Brunet. If the Leopard 2 chassis is retained for the French intermediate tank, the aim is to build locally, also because manufacturing in Germany is already ramping up to meet existing demand, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf we need to produce the chassis quickly, the best option is still to produce them in France,\u201d Brunet said. \u201cWe have the know-how, there\u2019s no problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">KNDS said the Ascalon gun had already fired around 300 rounds, and the company said the firing by a main-battle tank demonstrator with a remote-control turret in January was a world-first. Brunet said the Ascalon 120mm cannon is \u201cmuch more powerful\u201d than standard NATO 120mm guns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">KNDS also showed off a possible successor to the Leopard 2 A8 with an unmanned turret and a 120mm cannon from Rheinmetall.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The French-Germany company plans for an in-house active protection system and the ability to change out the 120mm gun with a 140mm variant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":120630,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":46,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[160,29,46,86,11,14,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3427],"class_list":["post-72647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-digital-show-dailies","category-europe","category-eurosatory","category-global","category-land","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"The French-Germany company banks on an in-house active protection system and the ability to change out the 120mm gun with a 140mm 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