Germany news: Hopes high ahead of first World Cup match
06/13/2026 June 13, 2026 German-French tank project at risk — Rheinmetall Germany and France signed a memorandum of understanding on the tank project in 2024
06/13/2026 June 13, 2026 German-French tank project at risk — Rheinmetall Germany and France signed a memorandum of understanding on the tank project in 2024 Image: Kay Nietfeld/dpa/picture alliance German defense contractor Rheinmetall has warned that a German tank project is facing possible headwinds amid French plans to cut funding. "There is always a risk, but nothing has been decided yet," chief executive Armin Papperger told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper in comments released on Saturday.
The newspaper cited him as saying that France was planning to dramatically reduce funding for the joint Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) tank project. "If you have less money available, you don’t get any faster, and we are already very slow," Pappberger was quoted as saying. The MGCS project would replace the German Leopard 2 and French Leclerc main battle tanks with a cross-platform ground combat system by 2040, earlier statements have said.
Pappberger said the long timeframe made him anyway doubt "whether there will even be an MGCS," according to the paper. His comments come after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz
and French President Emmanuel Macron this week announced the end of a planned joint fighter jet project, citing disagreements between the companies Dassault and Airbus during the negotiations.
The BriefWire