KNDS unveils CAPINT interim battle tank at Eurosatory as Franco-German MGCS project faces delays and FCAS cancellation looms
Franco-German defence group KNDS presented the CAPINT battle tank on Monday at the Eurosatory exhibition near Paris, a stopgap destined to replace France's ageing Leclerc fleet while the joint next-generation MGCS programme runs about 10 years behind schedule.
The CAPINT rollout at Eurosatory
KNDS, the Franco-German defence conglomerate formed by the merger of Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Nexter, mounted the new tank on the first day of the Eurosatory arms fair in Villepinte. Bearing the designation CAPINT (intermediary capability), the vehicle marries a chassis derived from the German Leopard 2 A8 with a remotely operated French Ascalon turret and gun, an arrangement the company described as a bridge between the Leclerc’s final years and the eventual Main Ground Combat System.
The Leclerc fleet is due to retire by 2038, but French commanders have grown wary of the timeline. General Philippe de Montenon, the army’s land-forces commander, told reporters on the eve of the show that the current tank would be “at the end of the road” by 2035. The CAPINT is expected to enter service during the 2030s, filling a gap the military considers too wide for comfort.
By 2035, it will be at the end of the road.
Why the urgency: a delayed MGCS
Catherine Vautrin, France’s armed-forces minister, pinned the need for an interim platform squarely on the MGCS, the Franco-German tank-of-the-future programme. Speaking to Les Échos, she said the project had “been delayed by ten years” and that France “cannot wait that long.” The minister stressed that the work was already inscribed in the military-planning law and would be financed accordingly.
The MGCS was launched in 2017 by President Emmanuel Macron and then-Chancellor Angela Merkel, with the goal of replacing both the Leopard 2 and the Leclerc around 2040–2045. Its schedule has since slipped amid industrial friction, notably after Rheinmetall joined the consortium in 2019 and unsettled the original division of labour between KNDS France and KNDS Deutschland.
The tank of the future has been delayed by ten years. We cannot wait that long.
A project in flux
A German defence-ministry spokesperson acknowledged that “some adjustments have been made in recent weeks,” and said Berlin and Paris “have jointly decided to focus on the core of the MGCS programme, namely research, development and demonstration of advanced technologies for the use and command of battle tanks.” Asked whether the two countries might ultimately field different armoured vehicles, the official replied that “the question remains open” and that the project “allows for different platforms to be envisaged.”
Uncertainty was amplified by remarks attributed over the weekend to the chief executive of Rheinmetall, one of MGCS’s shareholders, who reportedly said France was considering drastic cuts to the programme’s funding. A French government source countered that the project remains important both for Paris and Berlin and for KNDS.
The FCAS shadow
A week before the Eurosatory opening, France and Germany formally abandoned the FCAS fighter-jet programme – a flagship effort started in 2018 by Macron and Merkel – after months of disputes between Airbus and Dassault Aviation. Macron expressed regret at the decision, which has fed anxiety that the land-systems counterpart might suffer the same fate. Parallel to MGCS, Germany had already begun work on its own interim tank in 2025; developed by KNDS Germany and Rheinmetall, it is unofficially labelled “Leopard 3” by the military-specialist press.
A changed security landscape
Behind the procurement scramble lies a shifting geopolitical calculus. The threat from Russia, combined with US President Donald Trump’s wavering commitment to European defence, has pushed EU capitals to ramp up military investment. The CAPINT reveal, though technically an interim fix, thus carries weight far beyond its chassis and gun, as governments seek to demonstrate that industrial cooperation can still deliver hardware when the strategic horizon darkens.
