KNDS Capint: New Main Battle Tank as an Interim Solution for the MGCS

Eurosatory 2026 The KNDS Capint Main Battle Tank Could Roll out even before the MGCS

2026-06-18 Source: dpa 1 min Reading Time

The defence contractor KNDS has unveiled a new main battle tank that could replace France's Leclerc tank even before the Franco-German MGCS tank project is completed.

What you see here is an interim main battle tank solution for France—known as Capint. It is intended to replace the Leclerc before the main battle tank from the Franco-German MGCS project is actually ready, as France wants and cannot afford to wait long for the tank of the future.(Source: dpa / W. v. Dewitz) — What you see here is an interim main battle tank solution for France—known as Capint. It is intended to replace the Leclerc before the main battle tank from the Franco-German MGCS project is actually ready, as France wants and cannot afford to wait long for the tank of the future.
(Source: dpa / W. v. Dewitz)

The so-called Capint main battle tank from KNDS (a merger of Krauss-Maffei-Wegmann and Nexter), which was just unveiled at the Eurosatory defence exhibition in Paris, is a French project aimed at strengthening the French Army’s capabilities in the area of main battle tanks and paving the way for the MGCS (Main Ground Combat System) project. At least, that is what KNDS announced during the tank’s unveiling. Following the cancellation of the planned Franco-German FCAS fighter jet, voices are now being raised suggesting that the joint tank project could also fail, as France is cutting its budget. As is well known, the overall goal is to replace the Leopard 2 and Leclerc main battle tanks by 2040.

France needs an interim solution for its main battle tanks

French Defence Minister Catherine Vautrin attributed the interest in the Capint interim solution to delays in the MGCS project. According to her, the tank of the future has been delayed by a full ten years. France cannot wait that long. However, the interim model will still be a newly designed tank with high connectivity, as the statement continues. Work on it is enshrined in the Military Program Act and will be funded through it. As an interim solution until the launch of the MGCS, the German companies involved—Rheinmetall and KNDS—had already initiated the development of a new main battle tank in Germany, unofficially dubbed the Leopard 3 by the military press.

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