MGCS, ménage à trois or more ?

By Marc Chassillan

In 2017, under the impetus of the new French President Emmanuel Macron, France offered Germany six armament projects to be carried out in cooperation: the Maritime Airborne Weapons System, the New Generation Fighter, the Common Indirect Fire System, the Remotely Piloted Airborne System (RPAS) drone, the modernization of the Tiger Mk3 helicopter and the future Main Ground Combat System (MGCS). After five years of difficult budgetary, industrial, and technical negotiations, the RPAS is the only project to be on track. All the others are either stillborn or in very great difficulty. Launched in 2017, the MGCS was first subject of conceptual studies directly driven on the German side by the IABG (Industrieanlagen-Betriebsgesellschaft mbH) and on the French side by the Saint-Louis Institute. The outcomes made it possible to launch the phase known as SADS-1 (System Architecture Definition Study - Part 1) entrusted to the Nexter-KMW-Rheinmetall trio and that was completed at the end of 2021. In parallel, a letter of intent was signed in June 2018 between the two Defence Ministers, followed on April 20, 2020, by an “Implementing Arrangement 1”, formalizing the launch by France and Germany of the bilateral programme and providing for the organization of the project and the management structure. The German Ministry of Defence announced that it was managing the bilateral MGCS programme, financed equally by both states via the BAAINBw (Bundesamt für Ausrüstung, Informationstechnik und Nutzung der Bundeswehr) the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Tech-

The Main Ground Combat System logo.

At Eurosatory 2018 KNDS, the group formed by KMW and Nexter, exhibited a hybrid tank made of the Leopard 2 chassis and a Leclerc turret. © M. Chassillan.

nology and In-Service Support, acting as the lead contracting agency on behalf of Germany and France. Its press release insisted on the future of the German land armament industry, able to achieve world leadership: “The Franco-German cooperation is intended to form the basis for the broadest possible European or NATO cooperation. For the MGCS, Germany has taken the lead. […] Investing in this project will enable the German defence industry to position itself as the world’s leading land system industry in the long term through the development and application of future-oriented land system technologies. With the MGCS, the national key technology “protected/armored vehicles” in line with the strategy of the Federal Government will be maintained and strengthened. The MGCS project has the potential to become the largest European land-based armaments project for the development of a European land combat system in the medium term”.

SADS-1 was a matter of converging national concepts with the aim of achieving a common multi-platform architecture. Funding (150 million) in equal shares and workload between the two countries is the basic rule: “The contract is equally co-funded by Germany and France. Likewise, the German and French companies will implement equal division of work”. On the industrial side, the organizational methods follow the German classics, with the creation in December 2019 of an ARGE (Arbeitsgemeinschaft) associating the partner companies and acting as a contractual interlocutor of the BAAINBw. The KNDS

holding company is not a stakeholder as such, ARGE associating KMW (25%), Nexter Systems (50%) and Rheinmetall Defence (25%). SADS 1 was normally due to end in January 2022. It was initially extended until summer 2022. This horizon is again postponed, this time “until the beginning of next year”, reveals the DGA (Direction Générale de l’Armement), the French Government Defence procurement and technology agency. The materialization of the second part of the studies (SADS 2) would therefore take place with a year’s delay. The start of the development of a complete demonstrator by 2024 is unlikely. “At the same time, we are developing the industrial organization which will be that of the development and implementation phase,” adds the DGA. This should theoretically start in 2028, a very late date according to observers. SADS-2 should consist of the study and manufacture of MTDs (main technology demonstrators) between 2025 and 2027. MTD01 entrusted to Nexter-KMW is devoted to tracked mobility with in particular a hybrid powerpack. MTD-02 is the one that attracts a lot of attention, because it directly and brutally opposes Nexter and Rheinmetall. It is that of the heavy weapon system which combines a new gun, automatic loading, crew stations, all integrated into a possibly uninhabited turret. The stakes are strategic because the choice will in fact impose the future NATO standard. MTD-04 (survival crew citadel, armour, active protection, countermeasures) is the responsibility of Rheinmetall-Nexter. MTD-09 concerns simulators and combines Nexter and KMW. MTD-10 must demonstrate the feasibility of a heavy combat robot autonomous enough to be able to carry out complex missions. MTD11 on optronics and fire control is entrusted to Optrolead (Safran and Thales) and Hensoldt. MTD-13 is about connectivity on the battlefield and collaborative combat. It will be led by Thales and Rheinmetall. The latter are also fighting for the project management of MILSA (MGCS Industrial Lead System Architecture), a sort of big management task for the system of systems. The MTD-05 (NLOS gun-launched missile), MTD-06 (high-energy laser), MTD07 (high-energy electromagnetic weapon), MTD-08 (drone family) and MTD-12 (data fusion, swarm control drones), are not formally assigned.

As regards the tank main armament, the sustainability of the industrial and technological skills of Nexter Systems and Rheinmetall Land Systems is at stake. In 2016, the German company revealed a self-funded 130 mm/L51 gun demonstrator defined as “the latest evolution in Rheinmetall’s MBT Advanced Technologies competence”. In April 2021, Nexter introduced a new concept of main armament for combat tanks designed to deal with future heavily armoured threats, ASCALON (Autoloaded and SCALable Outperforming guN),

The MGCS is designed as a distributed system of systems heavily relying on connectivity, robotics and advanced sensors. © French Army.

thus recalling its expertise in the field (Leclerc 120 mm smoothbore, autoloader, telescoped ammunition, APFSDS, smart ammunition) and “the maturity reached during firing with a calibre of 140 mm”. Nexter indeed carried out a firing campaign with a 140 mm gun during fall 2018, a maturity achieved thanks to previous work carried out during the 1990s as part of the NATO Future Tank Main Armament (FTMA) programme. Designed to cope with the threat of the future generation of Soviet MBTs, FTMA set up a competition between US, French, German and British industrialists, from which the French 140 mm calibre emerged victorious. In 2022, the future standard of guns and tank ammunition is again at the centre of the agenda. From Nexter perspective, Ascalon fits all MGCS challenges: “Based on technical solutions whose full maturity will be reached by 2025, ASCALON offers an open architecture designed to serve as a basis, within the framework of the Franco-German MGCS programme, to cooperative development. […] This breakthrough in armament technology represents a major contribution by the French industry to achieving, after a cooperative development, a new solution common to France and Germany, enhancing distributed activities and balanced contributions of skills to the European defence industry”.

The opening of cooperation to other partners from the upstream phase represents another stumbling block. In a report on major armaments’ programmes of the Bundeswehr, the German Ministry of Defence wishes to see this openness promoted to other states of the European Union, NATO and other potential partner nations, “MGCS should also be designed as a NATO capability with an adequate group of participants. Initially, Germany aims to include the UK, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Italy.” If France is not opposed to this enlargement (moreover mentioned in the bilateral arrangements), it is coming too soon in a context that is still unstable. Joël Barre, head of the DGA, underlined during his hearing in October 2021 before the National Defence and Armed Forces Commission of the National Assembly, that “After the creation of the industrial alliance KMW + Nexter Defence Systems (KNDS) in 2016, at Germany’s request, we had to integrate Rheinmetall. As the organization is still not consolidated, we need additional time to achieve this, hence the extension of the system architecture study”. To the question of Christian Cambon, President of the Committee of Foreign Affairs, Defence and Armed Forces of the Senate, “Is there an alternative to MGCS?”, the Chief of Staff of the Army, General Pierre Schill, retorted: “If the MGCS cannot be carried out with Germany, it will be necessary either to envisage a Franco-French programme, or to rely on the SCORPION community focused on the Benelux. In any case, it will be necessary to lead to the production of a new MBT”. The stakes are just as strategic for the German armed forces. As for KMW and Rheinmetall

Active protection systems will be integrated on all MGCS platforms. © French Army.

For the MGCS Nexter developed the Ascalon 140 mm gun system, which leverages all technologies developed by the company such as cased-telescoped ammunition, automatic loading system, and the 140 FTMA R&D programme. © Nexter Systems. Rheinmetall developed a 130 mm gun which was first exhibited at Eurosatory 2016. © P. Valpolini.

Defence, they can rely on the Leopard 2 users club. While Franco-German cooperation is struggling, Germany and its two industrialists are manoeuvring in Italy, UK and Norway. Let’s remind that Norway has started the process of replacing the current fleet of Leopard 2 and has selected two contenders: KMW Leopard 2A7 and Hanwha K2.

In Poland, the gradual replacement of 500 MBTs of Soviet era (T-72 and their modernized local variant, the PT-91), scheduled in the technical modernization plan 2021-2035, saw the authorities dithering between different options: 100% national production (PGZ project), search for a foreign partner, integration of Poland into an existing cooperative programme, in this case the MGCS. Initially, the WILK programme envisaged the development and production of a new generation of heavy tanks, independently but without excluding cooperation with one or more foreign partners. In July 2019, the Polish authorities initially opted, as an interim solution, for the upgrading of 300 T-72M1 tanks, work carried out by ZM Bumar-Labedy and Wojskowe Zaklady Motoryzacyjne (WZM), for deliveries around 2025. At the same time, and like Italy, Poland expressed its wish to join the MGCS programme, a request made in 2019, reiterated in early 2020, and supported by Rheinmetall Defence. A condition is however put forward, that of the acceleration of the production schedule, the 2035 horizon being considered too distant in relation to Polish needs. If this is an end of non-receipt from Germany and France, the two partner countries agree on the possibility of integrating the programme during later stages, an option rejected by Poland because considered potentially less advantageous for its national industry. In November 2020, Italy approached Spain and Poland around a joint project for a future tank, without meeting a very favourable response. Rheinmetall Defence and KMW associated with the Polish Obrum offered the Leopard 2A7, when the South Korean Hanwha presented the K2PL tank at the MSPO 2020 show, a modified version of its K2 Black Panther, with offers of technology transfers and local assembly (by PGZ or WB Group). The stakes are high for the South Korean firm, which intends to conquer a market share in Northern Europe (Norway) and Eastern Europe (future Czech and Slovak markets). In July 2021, the Polish authorities ended up announcing the FMS acquisition procedure of 250 socalled third generation Abrams M1A2 SEPv3 tanks from GDLS, for an estimated $6 billion (including logistics, training and simulators). The war in Ukraine and Poland’s desire to

The 130 mm ammunition (left) compared to the 120 mm one. Size and weight make it mandatory to adopt an automatic loading system. © P. Valpolini.

move towards ever greater interoperability with American forces ruin Polish industrial ambitions in the heavy tank segment. Visiting the United States in October 2021, the Polish Minister of Defence, Mariusz Błaszczak declared: “From the Polish point of view, the purchase of Abrams tanks is very important. It increases the defence capabilities of our country and the capabilities of the Polish Army. From the point of view of the US Army, it is also building the interoperability of the US Army with the Polish Army”. In an operational emergency situation, Poland is expecting first deliveries from 2022, a calendar objective that is not compatible with the deadlines linked to the FMS process, as the CEO of General Dynamics reminded us. Therefore, Poland has moved away from any MGCS arrangement.

What next? During recent public presentations in France, the French Army has clearly expressed its wish to see the weight of the MGCS contained under 50 tons. It also mentioned a hypervelocity anti-tank missile as a means of obtaining greater ranges than those of the APFDS rounds within the framework of the NLOS capability in collaborative combat. In Germany the MGCS does not stop the studies of improvement of the Leopard 2, because KMW is rumoured to work on a project of an Ax version which would succeed the A7, which would prolong the commercial and technical life of a tank designed in the 70s and entered service in 1979. The future of the MGCS fully depends on an agreement between Nexter and Rheinmetall on the weapon system but the blockages are too important to come to a fair accord so far. On the French side, plan B would be the one mentioned by General Schill of a French national development, and the French industry has all the skills to carry it out. However, it would be necessary to manage the German half of KNDS, namely KMW. Rheinmetall’s ambition to control the European land sector through the MGCS programme will have to be translated into a partnership strategy that will be strongly supported by the German government, which will have exceptional budgetary resources in the coming decade.

Higher definition for naval navigation radars

By Luca Peruzzi

The Italian Navy has procured the Gemini-DB as the standard navigation radar for the new generation of combatant and support ships including the Thaon di Revel-class Pattugliatori Polivalenti d’Altura, the Trieste LHD, the Vulcano LSS and the Cabrini-class special forces fast operational support vessels, in addition to in-service platforms. © Giorgio Arra.

Naval navigation radars are finding an increasing tactical role as surface surveillance becomes an operational priority. In the past, surface warships have always been equipped with one or more short-range high-definition radars to aid navigation, blind pilotage and collision avoidance at sea, historically derived from commercial magnetron-based marine navigation radars (both X-band and S-band), but modified to incorporate additional tactical modes and display features. Starting from early last decade, navies have looked with more emphasis to new generation systems, mainly driven by two major factors: the increasing demanding regulatory framework for safe navigation and collision avoidance established by the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO’s) Regulation IEC 62388, particularly in the areas of small target detection, clutter performance, display of Automatic Identification System (AIS) targets and additional display features and functions, to offer sailors improved capability and safety, and the requirement for improved tactical surface surveillance out to the radar horizon and increased inner protection against “asymmetric” surface threats, together with better support to search and rescue and law enforcement operations.

The GEM Elettronica Gemini BD features a combination of X- and Ka-band radars which offers operational advantages and flexibility of operations, allowing the detection at shorter ranges of very fast small targets, submarine periscopes and multiple targets very near between them. © Luca Peruzzi.

The GEM Elettronica X-band Sea Eagle-200N radar can be considered as a family of systems that uses the most advanced digital technologies, ensuring a high level of detection of small naval targets as well as safety navigation. © Luca Peruzzi.

GEM Elettronica

Since its foundation in the late ’70s, radars represent the core activity and primary asset for Italy’s GEM Elettronica. The company is offering a new generation of radars for maritime applications, including the Gemini-DB digital dual band navigation and surveillance system, the compact SeaEagle 200N navigation and surveillance coherent system, and interestingly the HASR-100 shipborne helicopter approach surveillance radar. Operationally tested with success by the Italian Navy and the US Navy, the first service has procured the GeminiDB as the standard navigation radar for the new generation of combatant and support ships including so far the Thaon di Revel-class Pattugliatori Polivalenti d’Altura (PPA), the Trieste LHD, the Vulcano LSS and the Cabrini-class special forces fast operational support vessels, in addition to the replacement of older generation equipment on in-service platforms. The Gemini BD features a combination of X- and Ka-band radars which offers operational advantages and flexibility of operations at an optimized cost/ performance ratio, according to GEM Elettronica. Although the Gemini BD is capable to operate in three independent modes, X-, Ka-band and combination of both bands, the latter allows seamless coverage of the surveyed area, detecting small targets using its outstanding azimuth and a

range discrimination, according to the company. With an overall 230 kg weight for the two antennas (2.7 and 2.4 meters for respectively X- and Kaband) complex and up-mast Ka-band transceiver, the under-deck X-band transceiver alongside the system power supply and processing rack add further 180 kg. The X-band sensor with a 400 W full solid state transmitter offers frequency diversity, accurate target location, coherent, pulse compression, Doppler digital signal processing, alongside optional low probability of intercept (LPI) mode. While the latter provides longer range surveillance, the high sensitivity of the receiver and the resolution of the Ka-band super-directive antenna ensure high level of discrimination, allowing to detect at shorter range very fast small targets, submarine periscopes and multiple targets with distances down to 2 meters between them, increasing the ship safety in every operational condition, especially against hybrid threats. According to GEM Elettronica documentation, the range discrimination is better than 15 meters on a 10 m² radar cross section (RCS) target with short pulse (Ka-band) on the 1.38 km range scale while azimuth discrimination is better than 0.4° at same frequency.

The X-band Sea Eagle-200N radar can be considered as a family of systems designed with the strictest quality standards that uses the most advanced digital technologies and is able to ensure high level of detection of small naval targets as well as excellent safety of the ship’s conduct. It is fully compatible with IMO’s IEC 62388 ed. 2 standards and its open architecture allows supporting different levels of integration when interfaced with the on-board system. Featuring the application of solid state power amplifier (SSPA) and digital technology, the Sea Eagle-200N is offered with four different antennas dimensions (1.9, 2.3, 2.7 and 3.8 meters), the antenna turning unit, and the upmast (but the down-mast option is available) full solid state transceiver with up to 400 W peak power and under-deck radar processing and distribution units for a total weight under 80 kg with the smaller antenna.

GEM Elettronica also offers the HASR-100 shipborne helicopter approach surveillance radar, which is already in service with the Italian Navy onboard the Vulcano-class LSS. The HASR 100 is a lightweight and advanced X-band radar featuring helicopter decking aids. Based on state-of-the-art solid state technology and Pulse Compression with Doppler filtering, the HASR 100 is able to track a helicopter from 22 km down to the ship deck and assist the pilot to land

GEM Elettronica markets the HASR-100 shipborne helicopter approach surveillance radar, which is already in service with the Italian Navy onboard the first-of-class Vulcano LSS. The HARS-100 is a lightweight and advanced X-band radar featuring helicopter decking aids. © Giorgio Arra.