Europe injects £878m into defence: Tanks, lasers, and corvettes
The European Commission has announced that it will allocate substantial funds to develop over 50 international R&D projects. Among them are projects for constructing modern main battle tanks, such as MARTE (Main ARmored Tank of Europe) and FMBTech (Technologies for Existing and Future MBTs), corvettes, air systems, and laser energy weapons. What are these projects about?
The European Commission announced a significant investment in European defence on 16 May this year. Under the European Defence Fund (EDF), it will invest over £878 million to support 54 R&D projects that will enhance capabilities in cyber defence, ground combat, air and naval combat, and the protection of space resources.
Europe invests in defence
Army Recognition highlights two key initiatives focusing on developing advanced main battle tanks. These are the MARTE (Main Battle ARmored of Europe) project led by a German company and the FMBTech (Technologies for Existing and Future MBTs) project led by a French company. The projects unite over 70 enterprises and research organisations from various countries, joining forces to create a central battle platform across Europe.
The MARTE ARGE GbR consortium leads the MARTE project. It includes defence industries from Germany, Italy, Sweden, Estonia, Lithuania, Spain, Belgium, Norway, Greece, Romania, Finland, and the Netherlands. MARTE aims to develop a new main battle tank (MBT) platform that meets the current battlefield requirements and can be adapted to future threats and needs by integrating innovative and breakthrough technologies.
Additionally, MARTE aims to provide a platform offering the highest quality protection, detection, and firepower while increasing its cost-effectiveness and lifecycle efficiency compared to existing solutions. The project is planned for 24 months and has a budget of over £17.6 million.
The second main project, FMBTech, aims to enable existing and future European main battle tanks to achieve maximum operational performance. It is planned for 36 months with a nearly £17.6 million budget. The entities will define and identify the best innovative technologies within a modular main battle tank (MBT) system architecture. This will allow the tanks to boost operational efficiency within future land combat scenarios by providing state-of-the-art capabilities throughout their service life.
According to the European Commission, the FMBTech program will turn the main battle tank into a digitalised hub, offering better interaction with unmanned systems and enhanced crew performance thanks to artificial intelligence. Interestingly, Polish entities are also involved in developing this project, including the Research and Development Center for Mechanical Devices OBRUM Ltd., the Jarosław Dąbrowski Military University of Technology, and the Military Institute of Armoured and Automotive Technology.
