Description:
The EMBT (Enhanced/Euro Main Battle Tank) is an MBT developed by KNDS, a joint venture consisting of German company Krauss-Maffei Wegman, and French company Nexter systems. The vehicle was developed because quote: “the EMBT is a short-term response to the operational need of the market for high-intensity battle tanks.” Its not a tank the French or German militaries are interested in, this is a tank designed for export. The project has been ongoing since 2017, with the first prototype being unvailed at Eurosatory 2018. The vehicle utilized a Leopard 2A7 hull, and mounted a Leclerc turret. This combination led to an interesting middle ground between the two MBTs, featuring the great hull armor, and solid mobility of the Leopard, and the light weight, autoloading firepower and FCS of the Leclerc.
This vehicle was only intended to be nothing more than a Technology Demonstrator, one which was meant to establish a common vehicle between the two companies, and to provide information on potential cooperation and technology requirements as the project continues. Even back in 2018 they were planning to eventually come out with a proper prototype, maybe even a pre-series which is expected to enter service in 2030 if all goes well (Which KNDS did indeed deliver a dedicated prototype in 2022).
Why it should be added:
Though this project is a private venture within KNDS, meaning its not strictly a German or French project, I do think the addition of this vehicle should be prioritized for the French, due to them being limited in potential additions to their top tier lineup compared to Germany (though I may make a copy of this post for Germany). Beyond that, so far with the Leclerc’s that have been added to the French tree, there has been basically no changes to the frontal hull armor, so this vehicle would not only change it, but give the French (one of) the most well protected frontal hulls in the game.
Cant say no to the beauty like that.
Though sadly the upgraded hull armour goes to zero when the big turret neck gap is mentioned.
Still +1.
Would be a great addition for the France.
Maybe a France oriented update with SPAA’s, this and prototype Leclerc to finally fill 9.7-11.7 gap.
Huh, i am suprised the suggestion for this one for france as well as germany didnt exist yet, guess we all concentrated on the better 2022 version.
That is not exactly right. Its not realy part of a private venture. Both EMBT 2018 as well as 2022 developed as part of the MGCS project and a show of collaboration that the main project is on a good way.
But only adding it to france is purely wrong. It doesnt matter how limited or how many possible additions a country has. Look at the US getting a new top tier aircraft every other upgrade. And this prototype will make a nice sidegrade for both france and germany.
It should be handled like the recent Alpha-jet, both nations getting them together
That was handled atrociously… They introduced both at the same battle rating, even though the French one is effectively a downgrade in most situations… Weaker engine, and no flares…
In lieu of the Leclercs getting their correct frontal hull armor (unless that is how they’re supposed to be?) This would be an excellent solution to that problem. Both nations should get it eventually, but I agree that France probably needs it more immediately. +1
to be fair thats on the french for just having a worse version, besides that the engine isnt much better and flares arent realy needed at that br either
Typical German main response… Horrible attempt to gas-light, can’t even fact check things that are easily solved from a quick Google search, and can’t even keep a discernible thought together within one sentence.
Let’s take a look at this jumble of thought step by step.
“to be fair”
Proceeds to say something that is in no manner fair since you immediately discard any negatives as it does not impact you personally.
“thats [sic] on the french [sic] for just having a worse version”
Incorrect for many reasons. The French did not just choose to have a “worse version”. Gaijin picked a variant that was a straight downgrade, yet gave both the same battle rating. Variants like the Alpha Jet MS2, which featured French Thomson-CSF and French Sagem avionics as well as a better engine could have been selected.
Even if the case was made that they wanted to add the trainer variant specifically, you yourself admit it is a downgrade, which makes no sense for it to be the same battle rating.
“besides that the engine isnt [sic] much better and flares arent [sic] realy [sic] needed at that br either”
How delusional must one be to say flares are not needed at 8.7? In the likely event you are sucked into 9.7 for AirRB or 9.3 for GroundRB, you are likely to encounter Aim-9D/G/Shafrir 2 carrying aircraft, if not R-60s. Given the engine performance of either Alpha Jet, it is a significant advantage to be able to simply flare rather than turn and bleed speed. Not to mention the benefits of pre-flaring against MANPADs in GroundRB. How does it make sense that you immediately concede that the French version is worse, then follow up by listing out the exact negatives, demonstrating your awareness of these cons, yet come to the conclusion of “yeah but those downsides don’t matter anyways.”
I’m not saying that Germany shouldn’t get the EMBT given the large contributions of KMW (hence the letter K in KNDS), but the debilitating narcissism driven attitude that German mains have when another nation may reap the benefits of an update early for once is not something that should be entertained. You should be happy if the EMBT is added to Germany since you will reap the hard work of French bug reporters on the Leclerc turret and weapons system for free. If you really want Germany to have the best variant of the EMBT on launch, you should push Gaijin to give the Leclercs newer ammunition and to fix the turret, otherwise German mains will suffer through the real OFL 120 F1 and Leclerc paper armor experience at top tier.
