KNDS Launches CAPINT Tank for France as Joint MGCS Project Slips 10 Years

3 articles · Updated · Reuters · Jun 15

CAPINT MBT debuted at the Eurosatory show near Paris on Monday as KNDS’s interim answer to France’s ageing Leclerc fleet, which is due to leave service by 2038.
The stopgap program was launched after Paris said in April that the Franco-German MGCS successor was running about 10 years late, against an original 2040-2045 entry-into-service target.
KNDS said CAPINT combines a German-made chassis with a French-made gun and is meant to bolster the French Army while paving the way for MGCS.
Doubts over MGCS deepened after a German spokesperson said Monday the project would focus on platform-independent technologies, leaving unclear whether a joint tank will still be built.
The launch adds to strain in European defence cooperation after France and Germany dropped their FCAS fighter project last week, even as KNDS readies a Frankfurt-Paris IPO.