Germany, France to Develop New Battle Tank to Catch Up With Russia’s Armata

 

Germany and France are now preparing to jointly develop a new main battle tank, the Leopard 3, to replace its ageing Leopard 2 military vehicle by around 2030, which would be able to compete with Russia’s next-generation Armata tank, recently showcased at the Victory Day parade commemorating the end of World War Two in Moscow.

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The main reason for the modernization is believed to be the Leopard 2 service life, which is set to expire by 2030.

The German media, however, suggest that the real reason is the recently-presented analysis by Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND) on Russia’s reinforced combat strength and its recently showcased T-14 Armata tanks, which were presented during the country’s Victory Parade in Moscow on May 9.

German, French defense companies to merge

VERSAILLES, France, July 2 (UPI) —Two major European Defense enterprises are merging their businesses as early as next year through a joint holding company.

The merger deal is between Germany’s Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Nexter Systems of France, providers of land defense systems.