New German tanks to confront Russian threat

State-of-the-art, precise and heavily protected: Two new German main battle tanks which are designed to stand up to Putin

Source

Two concepts that have arrived at the right time

Against the background of the Ukraine invasion, re-armament is taking place.  Two new main battle tanks from Germany are ready.  This will pose problems for the German-French joint project, MGCS.

Only recently it was thought that the German-French joint project Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) would be built in Western European tank factories sometime in the rather distant future and that until then the existing main battle tanks would have to be upgraded and converted.  However, at the Eurosatory armaments fair, there were two fully-fledged new main battle tanks, the Panther KF51 from Rheinmetall and the Enhanced Main Battle Tank (EMBT) from Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Nexter.

The new Panther

The Panther KF51 received the most attention - partly due to the controversial traditional name.  On the other hand, this was because the Panther was fairly complete at the exhibition, while the EMBT still had to do without its biggest eye-catcher, the main weapon.  Both concepts are presented side-by-side in detail on the specialist portal "ESUT – European Security and Technology".

The central new development of the Panther is the turret.  It carries the Future Gun System (FGS) with a 130mm/L52 smoothbore cannon.  For the first time for a German tank, this weapon is loaded fully automatically – the loader role in previous vehicles is no longer required.  Compared to the 120mm guns, the 130mm gun is said to be 50 percent more effective.  The larger calibre comes with a smaller ammo supply.  The loader holds 20 shots - an additional ten can be carried in the tank.  That is not a large load compared to previous models but the tanks of the future are more precise. Each shot is designed to destroy a target.

Sensors, target acquisition and electronics are brought together by a bus system based on the standard NATO Generic Vehicle Architecture (NGVA), each crew member having full access to the functions from their seat.  The size of the crew is interesting.  The Panther can be operated by three people but there is room for a fourth person who could take control of flying drones, loitering munitions or even an unmanned escort tank.  When it comes to defence, the Top Attack Protection System (TAPS) stands out, as it can also fend off anti-tank missiles attacking from above.  The hull is less revolutionary, essentially taking elements from the Leopard 2.

EMBT with 140mm gun

Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Nexter have introduced the Enhanced Main Battle Tank (EMBT).  It is a pure demonstration vehicle and no prototype.  The hull of the EMBT is also based on the Leopard whereas the turret is brand new.  Here, too, the crew consists of four people.  One of them is a system operator.  What is interesting is that both models do not go down the route of the T-14 Armata with a crew of three.  Although both tanks are also designed for the use of AI, the manufacturers obviously do not expect that central control functions of the tanks will be taken over by AI without human intervention in the near future.

At the show, the EMBT was shown with a 120mm smoothbore gun and a 30mm armament station on the turret.  The turret is also designed to accommodate Nexter's new 140mm Ascalon cannon.  ESUT writes that the installation of the 140 mm weapon system will not take place before 2025.  The tower will probably also be adapted for this.  The chassis was completely prepared for Drive by Wire, a basic requirement for fully automatic control.

Armaments boost from the war in Ukraine

Both tanks are concepts and not finished products and thus you will see changes until the series production begins.  Since these are industrial and not state-contracted developments, customers will have a decisive influence.  However, one thing is already certain: both tanks will be available much faster than the European prestige project, Main Ground Combat System (MGCS).  The Panther, in particular, could go into production relatively quickly if there are serious customers.  Moreover, that is what it looks like.  The attack on Ukraine increases the need to procure modern tanks in a timely fashion.  On the one hand, all countries feel the threat from Russia, on the other hand, some states are emptying their magazines to support Kyiv with main battle tanks and they will want to fill the gaps quickly.  If the war in Ukraine lasts longer at its current level, the situation will worsen.  The only question is what the status of the main ground combat system is at that point in time.  States that upgrade to a new main battle tank in the next few years are unlikely to retire those tanks to acquire a new system shortly thereafter.

In terms of concept, both models remain far more down-to-earth than Putin's Armata - the chassis corresponds to an optimised Leopard 2 and most importantly, the crew will not be placed in a separate protection module.  Both models do not follow the idea of a technical "Let’s make a wish!" – they rely on realistic innovations that can be quickly put into series production.