MARTE Main ARmoured Tank of Europe

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Europe’s MARTE programme is redefining multinational collaboration to deliver the next generation of main battle tanks and strengthen strategic autonomy.

The European defence sector has entered a new era of collaboration between industry and defence ministries in the field of main battle tanks. The project MARTE (Main ARmoured Tank of Europe), funded by the European Defence Fund (EDF), is far more than a technology project; it is a cornerstone for Europe’s strategic autonomy and military relevance in high-intensity land warfare.

MARTE aims to develop Europe’s future main battle tank as a holistic system that will dominate the battlefields of tomorrow. It sets new standards in multinational capability development by harmonising the requirements of a total of eleven participating European member states (Germany (lead), Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Spain and Sweden), while incorporating lessons learned from current conflicts. The ambitious overall objective of the project is to reach the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) within just 24 months.

One year after its official launch in December 2024, MARTE—coordinated and led by MARTE ARGE GbR, a joint venture between KNDS Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG and Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH—has now reached an important milestone at the project’s halfway point. Building on the solid foundation laid at the start of the project, the MARTE consortium has demonstrated significant progress over the past 12 months in technical, organisational and strategic areas.

Under the leadership of the MARTE core team, consisting of MARTE ARGE GbR, KNDS Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG and Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH (all from Germany), Leonardo S.p.A. (Italy), Indra Sistemas S.A. (Spain) and SAAB AB (Sweden), the consortium has successfully completed several technical work packages and submitted key deliverables on schedule to the European Commission, the granting authority.

The results achieved include a comprehensive concept of operations (CONOPS) as well as a complete catalogue of requirements for a future main battle tank system. Under the leadership of SAAB AB, the consortium partners worked closely with the participating defence ministries. This joint effort resulted in a consolidated and harmonised baseline that explicitly reflects the needs of the participating defence ministries as the future customer. In addition, under the leadership of Indra Sistemas S.A., the consortium conducted a comprehensive market study. Numerous partners contributed their expertise to compare and evaluate the availability, technological maturity and performance of relevant technologies and subsystems within the European defence market.

Europe’s security landscape is changing rapidly

As defence budgets rise and EU programmes expand, civil technology providers are becoming vital contributors to Europe’s strategic autonomy. The event will act as a neutral platform for dialogue between technology suppliers, integrators, and decision-makers shaping the next generation of European defence capabilities and aims to open doors between civil industry and defence procurement, providing practical insights.

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The submitted work results have been formally validated by the European Commission and therefore provide a solid basis for entering the next phase of the MARTE project. This phase focuses on the design and architecture work for the MARTE main battle tank as a system of systems and its subsystems, with KNDS Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH and Leonardo S.p.A. taking the lead in these activities.

The midterm general assembly, hosted in November 2025 in San Sebastián (Spain) by MARTE ARGE GbR, brought together all consortium partners as well as key MARTE stakeholders. In addition to presenting the work results achieved so far, the event provided insights into ongoing activities, ensured the goal-oriented alignment of all participants on the path towards the targeted Preliminary Design Review, and thus reinforced MARTE’s role as one of the central projects within the EDF framework.

The achievements to date, the close industrial collaboration across Europe and the continued active involvement of the participating defence ministries underline the importance of MARTE as a decisive strategic investment in the technological sovereignty and innovative strength of the European defence industry.