A false controversy disappears. Not one, but two envelopes of nearly €20 million will be granted by the European Commission to as many groups called to work on the battle tank of the future, one predominantly German and the other predominantly French.
The affair had caused a little (too much) ink to be spilled: several countries led by Germany were seeking funding from the European Defense Fund (EDEF) to carry out R&D actions relating to the battle tank of tomorrow. An approach that some, always quicker to argue than to reason, had perceived as an initiative competing with the Franco-German main land combat system program (or MGCS).
Not only was European support from the outset far too limited to ensure the development of a supposed competitor alone, but Europe did even better by splitting the financial line to distribute it almost equally. The results came in yesterday: one everywhere, ball in the center. Mon, ” Main ARmoured Tank of Europe » (MARTE), will be led by a German consortium and includes the German pillar of the KNDS group. The other, called “FMBTech”, will be led by none other than Thales SIX and will include Arquus, KNDS France, MBDA and Safran Electronics & Defense.
Between MARTE and FMBTech, the border seems very tenuous. Each will benefit from around €20 million from the FEDef to carry out studies and design work. The first focuses more on the platform, the second on technological building blocks, but both are part of the same effort to improve the operational performance of current and future tank fleets.
Ironically, the envelopes are only a little over €100,000 apart. Certainly, for the benefit of the German project, but for a budget line to be distributed between 47 actors. Not enough to seriously threaten an MGCS program for which the French half plans to inject €500 million by 2030 and the German part more than €250 million by 2027.
On the contrary, the results of this work should at least partially trickle down to MGCS. Both Marte and FMBTech are also mobilizing industrialists from countries with a long-standing interest in the Franco-German tank program. Of the 70 entities concerned, 12 come from Italy, seven from Spain and three from Poland.
These two projects are among the 54 selected this Thursday by the European Commission to benefit from a total envelope of €1.031 billion from the FEDef. The French sector is once again well represented there. Including FMBTech, it will lead a dozen consortiums in areas as vast as hypersonic anti-missile defense, laser weapons and the supply of infrared detectors.
Image credits: KNDS
