EMBT an Interim Solution for Evolving Demand?

At Eurosatory 2018 in Paris on 11 June KNDS – the Franco-German group formed from KMW and Nexter Defence Systems – provided an exclusive public viewing of its first joint product, the EMBT.

The hull, engine and entire chassis comes from the LEOPARD 2 A7 and were modified to host the compact and light turret with automatic loading from the LECLERC. Composed of proven and tested technologies, the EMBT appears to be intended by the company as a short-term response to the operational need of the market for high-intensity battle tanks. By assembling a chassis, which is already certified to MLC70, and a light turret operated by only two crew members instead of three, the EMBT brings together the best in battle tank state-of-the-art, with an exceptional growth potential (roughly 6t), allowing the integration of multiple future solutions. The demonstrator presented at Eurosatory illustrates the progress of the integration of KNDS, whose combined skills make it a strong industrial contender for two future Franco-German programmes: the Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) replacement for LEOPARD and LECLERC and the Common Indirect Fire System (CIFS), an artillery piece with a 40-60km range bracket.