Defense manufacturer KNDS unveiled a new combat tank on Monday at the Eurosatory exhibition near Paris, intended as a bridge solution to replace France’s aging Leclerc tanks while a major joint French-German development program continues to fall behind schedule.
The new vehicle, designated CAPINT — short for “intermediary capability” — pairs a chassis built by KNDS’s German division with a tank gun produced by its French division. According to KNDS, the tank is designed to bolster French Army readiness and help lay the groundwork for the next-generation Main Ground Combat System, known as MGCS.
The MGCS program, which got underway in 2017, is meant to eventually replace both Germany’s Leopard 2 and France’s Leclerc tanks, with an original target of entering service between 2040 and 2045. France’s Leclerc tanks are scheduled to be retired by 2038.
In April, France’s Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin told parliament that Paris had chosen to pursue an “intermediate” tank program because the MGCS effort was running roughly a decade behind schedule.
The CAPINT announcement comes just days after France and Germany scrapped their joint FCAS fighter jet program following months of disputes between Airbus and Dassault Aviation — raising further concerns about the durability of European defense cooperation.
Adding to the uncertainty, a German government spokesperson said Monday that the MGCS project would focus on “platform-independent” technologies, and acknowledged it was not yet clear whether a jointly built tank would actually come to fruition. A French government source, however, maintained that the project remains a priority for both nations as well as for KNDS.
Over the weekend, the CEO of German defense firm Rheinmetall — one of the shareholders in the MGCS initiative — was quoted as saying France was weighing significant cuts to the project’s funding.
KNDS CEO Jean-Paul Alary, speaking with reporters at Eurosatory, said the status of MGCS was a political matter he could not address directly, but warned that if the program collapsed, it would be “very bad news” for Europe.
Germany has already begun developing its own parallel tank program, with KNDS Germany and Rheinmetall working together since 2025 on an intermediate tank — referred to as either the Leopard 2AX or Leopard 3 — to eventually succeed the Leopard 2.
On the business front, KNDS is preparing for an initial public offering with a dual listing planned on stock exchanges in Frankfurt and Paris, expected to take place this year. When asked about timing, Alary said the best outcome would be to move forward “as soon as we can.”
German newspaper Handelsblatt reported Monday that Paris and Berlin had reached an agreement after the German government sought protections ahead of the IPO to prevent sensitive technology from leaving Germany. The German chancellery had not responded to a request for comment as of press time.
KNDS Chairman Tom Enders was cited in the same report as cautioning against a drift toward national protectionism, warning it could erode the foundation of European defense collaboration.
Broader security concerns — including a perceived growing threat from Russia and increasing hesitation from U.S. President Donald Trump to support European defense — have pushed governments across the continent to accelerate military investment, even as joint production efforts face headwinds.
