Germany and France intend to develop a common main battle tank called the Main Ground Combat System (MGCS). The full-scale development of the project has not yet begun, but its participants are already expressing their opinions on various issues. It is also planned to modernize the existing equipment. In recent months, the Rheinmetall Group has published a number of materials on current projects, and recently there have been new ones of great interest.
Three frames
On November 20, the Rheinmetall Group published an interesting presentation revealing the current details of its activities in the field of defense and security. The document provides information on existing threats and challenges, as well as on ways to counter them. One of the topics was armored vehicles.
Three slides of the presentation are devoted to the development of armored vehicles, incl. the MGCS project, in the development of which Rheinmetall was involved. The project is in its early stages, and the requirements for the future MBT have not yet been determined. However, this did not prevent the company from presenting its views on the tank as a whole and its individual components.
The first slide on the topic of tanks showed the possible appearance of the tank of the future MGCS. On the second, a complex of weapons designed for a tank of a different architecture was examined. The third was completely assigned to a promising gun of increased caliber. It is curious that the slides represent several options for building the OBT. In addition, some of the images and components look familiar despite the fact that they are new.
Possible appearance
Rheinmetall has revealed a possible appearance of the MGCS MBT, corresponding to its views on the project. The presented image of the three-dimensional model is as similar as possible to the previously published black and white sketches and does not have any special differences. Taking into account the already known information about the concept from "Rheinmetall", you can examine the picture shown in more detail.
The conceptual project proposes to build an MBT based on the KF41 tracked chassis, originally developed for a heavy infantry fighting vehicle. As a result, the tank should have some characteristic features, such as a front-engined layout, advanced hinged booking and active use of the aft hull volumes. In the center of the car, it is proposed to place a manned capsule compartment with a crew.
The tank should be equipped with an uninhabited turret with all the necessary weapons and advanced optical-electronic means. The units of the fighting compartment should be located both inside the dome and below the turret ring, in the hull. The removal of the crew to its own compartment leads to the need to automate a number of processes. Some of the crew's functions can be entrusted to a computer with artificial intelligence functions.
MBT based on KF41 can have a gun with caliber from 105 to 130 mm - at the request of the customer. Due to its more advanced design and advanced control system, it will be able to show high combat qualities and surpass current tanks with modern weapons. Machine-gun armament has not been forgotten either. It is proposed to install a remotely controlled weapon station on the roof of the tower.
Digital tower
The second slide shows a development called Digital Turret - "digital tower". Shown are three-dimensional images of a tank on a Leopard 2 chassis with a new turret, a separate turret and its internal equipment. Unlike the previous slide, the usual manned fighting compartment is shown with a set of equipment that has already become standard - which cannot be said about the weapon of the "digital tower".
The Digital Turret product contains two workstations for the commander and gunner, located on the sides of the cannon breech. The crew has LCD monitors and a set of necessary control panels, incl. two-handed "steering wheel" for turret and gun control.
The onboard electronics of the new tower should provide observation of the terrain and defeat the enemy from all types of weapons, maintain communication and transfer data about the battlefield, and also control the attached unmanned ground vehicles and aircraft.
A promising 130-mm smoothbore cannon is proposed as the main weapon for the digital turret. It must use large and heavy unitary shots, which is why an automatic loader is used. Additional armament includes a DBM on the turret roof.
Increased caliber
The third slide on the development of armored vehicles showed the already well-known 130-mm smooth-bore cannon of increased power. The Rheinmetall company created this product several years ago and since 2016 it has been regularly shown at various exhibitions. The presentation includes an image of the gun and ammunition at the exhibition stand.
According to official figures, the new 130mm cannon is a deep modernization of the existing 120mm cannon. The original design was enlarged for a new caliber and improved with the use of modern developments and technologies. The main units are reinforced according to the new loads. The barrel length, despite the increase in caliber, remained at 55 calibers.
Unitary shots of several types have been created specially for the new gun. An increase in caliber by 10 mm made it possible to increase the effectiveness of an armor-piercing sub-caliber projectile by 50%. When using shells of other classes, an increase in range and power is provided.
Rheinmetall believes that such a gun can be used in projects for the modernization of existing MBTs or in the creation of new combat vehicles, such as the MGCS. The need to use such a weapon is explained by the growth of the protection characteristics of modern armored vehicles. Existing 120mm tank guns cannot always cope with enemy armor, and this situation will only get worse in the future. Increasing the caliber and related characteristics, it is argued, will provide superiority over the equipment of a potential enemy.
New items
The Rheinmetall group has been developing and modernizing armored vehicles for a long time and has accumulated solid experience. Now it is used both when updating existing machines and when developing completely new ones. In the near future, Germany and France will begin developing the promising MBT MGCS, and Rheinmetall will play an important role in this process.
In a recent presentation, the company presented its main ideas in the context of the development of new combat vehicles and their key components. So far, such solutions have not been implemented in practice, but in the future they can be used to the fullest.
Nevertheless, not all ideas from the presentation will be able to reach implementation. Rheinmetall will participate in the MGCS project as a developer of weapons and fire control systems. This means that it is unlikely to be able to influence the development of the general appearance of the MBT and the chassis for it. The role of the company in the creation of the tower will be much larger.
As a result, the MBT project based on the KF41 BMP has an uncertain future. It may interest customers in Berlin and Paris and be developed, but a different development of events is also possible. Other participants in the MGCS project can push their proposals in the context of the architecture and chassis of the tank.
In the field of weapons and MSA, the situation looks different. It is Rheinmetall that will make the required gun and related systems. Now she is ready to offer several options for weapon systems of different architectures and with different configurations. The option for further development will be selected taking into account the tactical and technical requirements of the customer.
Developments for the future
As far as we know, TTTs for the Main Ground Combat System program have not yet been formed. Also, a number of organizational issues have not been resolved. Such preparations for the creation of a joint project will be completed in the near future, after which the industry of the two countries will begin real work.
It is possible that some of the ideas and solutions from the Rheinmetall Group, presented recently and in a recent presentation, will find application in a real MGCS project. Time will tell which features will pass from the drawn tanks to real vehicles.
