Photo by FOCKE STRANGMANN / AFP

The head of German defense company Rheinmetall has expressed concern that France may withdraw from a joint Franco-German tank program, following the collapse of a previous collaborative fighter jet project, according to a report on Saturday.

The Franco-German Air System (FCAS) initiative to build a next-generation warplane was scrapped this week amid tensions between companies involved, dealing a blow to European defense cooperation efforts, News.Az reports, citing Kyiv Post.

Now fears are mounting for another joint project, the Main Ground Combat System (MGCS), which aims to replace battle tanks currently used by France and Germany.

Referring to it, Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper: “There is always a risk, but nothing has been decided yet.”

Rheinmetall is one of the companies involved, along with Franco-German arms maker KNDS and France’s Thales.

Papperger said however that France is already planning to drastically cut the budget, with a figure under discussion of less than half of what was previously planned.

Cuts could delay the program further, he added.

“If you have less money available, you won’t get faster, and we are already very slow,” said the Rheinmetall CEO.

The companies in the project have so far received only €25 million ($28.9 million), which is “very little money,” Papperger said.

The MGCS is supposed to succeed Germany’s Leopard 2 and France’s Leclerc tanks around 2040. It is already behind schedule.

News.Az 

By Ulviyya Salmanli