German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and his French counterpart, Sebastien Lecornu, announced that their countries were ready to move ahead with a jointly developed new tank that would become the central pillar of their ground defenses.

Pistorius signed a memorandum of understanding on the development of the next-generation tank, the Main Ground Combat System (MGCS), during a visit to France on Friday. The tank is meant to replace Germany's Leopard 2 battle tank and France's Leclerc.

What did Pistorius say?

Pistorius described the agreement in principle as "historic."

"We have agreed on the distribution of all tasks for this major project," he said while stopping short of publicly releasing more details.

The German defense minister said there was still a long way to go until tank production would actually begin, though he acknowledged that the agreement was an "important milestone."

Pistorius said contracts with industry were expected to be finalized by the end of the year. He expressed confidence that the German lawmakers would bless the scheme.

Lecornu, meanwhile, named KNDS, Rheinmetall and Thales as companies that were likely to contribute to the future tank.

The ministers also agreed on the contested distribution of tasks and contracts for the project. Two of the eight pillars of the project would be led by Berlin, another two by Paris, while the remaining four would be jointly led.

What do we know about the MGCS?

Shortly after French President Emmanuel Macron was elected in 2017, he and then German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed on a list of joint armament projects costing more than €100 billion ($106 billion).

The MGCS is the second major arms industry project between the two European countries and comes on the heels of plans to build a next-generation fighter jet, FCAS, as well as drone systems.

The MGCS project does not only include the development of the battle tank, but also a series of systems and vehicles built off that platform.

Germany is meant to play a leading role in developing the MGCS, while France is taking the lead on developing the FCAS.

However, industrial rivalries and differing political interests weigh heavily on the prestigious Franco-German MGCS project.

rmt/sms (dpa, Reuters)