“Today there is a political will to pursue common programs, with two projects under study … There is a review with the two defense ministries and chiefs of staff, and we will obviously make proposals, dialog with the ministries and take note of the requirements,” Mayer said, as quoted by the Defense News newspaper.
The news come as Nexter and German defense technologies firm Krauss-Maffei Wegmann teamed up to form a joint venture named KNDS. Berlin and Paris are also reportedly in talks on the planned replacement of their Leopard and Leclerc heavy tanks.
“The time horizon is 2025 to 2030 for development of these new programs, which are … strategic and important for our group,” Mayer said.
According to the chairman, Nexter hopes that other European countries will later join the projects, with Britain and Italy leading the list of potential partners.
