At Eurosatory 2026, KNDS unveiled their ‘CAPINT’ main battle tank. Yet what is perhaps more intriguing than the vehicle itself, is the forward-thinking concept of operations being developed around it.
At Eurosatory 2026, Franco-German company KNDS unveiled their latest main battle tank (MBT), CAPINT, as their pitch to the French Ministry of Defence (MoD). CAPINT stands for ‘Capacité Intermédiaire’ (ENG: Intermediate Capacity), and it is being pitched as a ‘bridge’ between current-generation MBTs, in France’s case the Leclerc XLR, and the next generation being developed under the Franco-German Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) programme, which will field a family of vehicles including tanks and other supporting vehicles, all based on a common tracked platform.
Under the MGCS programme’s original timetable, production of the next-generation vehicles was intended to start around 2035. However, due to various delays, the timeline for production has now slipped several times, first into the 2040s, and now into the 2050s. This has in turn meant that the French Army’s original plan of operating their modernised Leclerc XLRs (with 200 due to be delivered by the end of 2035) until MGCS came along now no longer looks to be viable, as it would mean going around two decades without an upgrade.
This is where CAPINT comes in. The vehicle comprises a heavily modified Leopard 2 hull as the base platform, with three crew (driver, gunner, commander) sitting in the forward portion of the hull, and featuring the Ascalon unmanned turret. An earlier version of the vehicle was displayed at Eurosatory 2024 as the ‘EMBT-ADT 140’, but the 2026 CAPINT featured a number of notable design changes.
For staters, the CAPINT featured a much more noticeably sloped glacis, along with additional protection mounted over the toe plate, and much larger and bulkier flank protection around the crew capsule at the front of the hull. While CAPINT mounted the 120 mm L55 version of the ASCALON gun instead of the 140 mm L48 version seen on EMBT-ADT 140, this isn’t such a major change, as the ASCALON gun is designed with a common breech block and cradle, allowing a user to switch between the two barrel calibres relatively easily. Some of the cameras mounted on the hull of EMBT-ADT 140 were gone, seemingly replaced by larger camera modules mounted around the turret, and in between the active protection system (APS) going around the turret. The entire APS arrangement appeared to have been moved downward on the turret, giving the roof a more sloped appearance. The small radars for the APS mounted on the turret corners were absent on CAPINT, replaced by multi-panel radars mounted above the turret corners. Finally, CAPINT also featured a box housing for a tethered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) mounted at the rear of the hull.
Perhaps one of the more surprising aspects of CAPINT was the choice of platform, with Leopard 2 being put forward as the platform of choice. In part, because at Eurosatory 2024, KNDS France had showcased the Leclerc Evolution with a manned version of the Ascalon turret, presenting a notional upgrade path for Leclerc users. Added to this, France has for years been fiercely protectionist when it comes to its domestic defence industry, and the country has shown numerous times that it is willing to go it alone to preserve sovereign capability.
Speaking to Warsight, Julien Brunet, Product Line Manager MBT & Reconnaissance Vehicles at KNDS France, confirmed Leopard 2 platform was being put forward as part of the company’s offer to the French MoD, explaining: “That’s the idea. This is the proposal of KNDS. So, there is a discussion between the French MoD and KNDS to see if our solution fits the requirements of the French army, and what we look also is to have the latest version of the Leopard 2 hull chassis to have this combination between the turret and the chassis. The thing is that the turret is non-intrusive, that means you are agnostic from the platform. So, tomorrow, if we need to go on another platform, you know why not?”
This seems like a step in the right direction, as joining the Leopard 2 user group would give France greater commonality with the majority of its European allies, representing a triumph of common sense over national pride. For comparison, there are around 24 Leopard 2 user countries, most of them European, while there are only three Leclerc user countries, with the only European user being France.
Moreover, production would represent an issue for sticking with Leclerc, whose production line closed in 2007. Restarting this line might be possible, but would in all likelihood be time-consuming and costly. Refurbishing used Leclerc hulls would be another possible route, but doing so would take tanks out of rotation with the armed forces during refurbishment, resulting in a capability gap, and no ready way to replace potential losses.
By contrast, production of new-build Leopard 2 hulls has restarted recently in Germany, with deliveries of Leopard 2A8 using new-build hulls rolling off the production line at KNDS’ Munich plant in 2025. Admittedly, this came after a 23-year lull, with new-build Leopard 2s having last been produced in Munich in 1992. While a number of new-build Leopard 2s did appear between 1992 and 2025, those were produced by ELBO in Greece, with Greek company M Technologies (formerly METKA Volos) making the hulls and turret structures. Indeed, M Technologies was contracted by KNDS to supply components for Leopard 2A8 in December 2025.
As well as representing a major upgrade over Leclerc XLR, the new CAPINT tank would also provide a route for the French armed forces to begin training and learning how to operate armoured vehicles as part of a system of systems, as is envisioned under MGCS.
Brunet explained: “to be honest, we consider this to be the first step for going toward MGCS, and because right now we can show you the what we call the main platform, but you will have also unmanned ground vehicles [UGVs] around it. We can call them ‘wingmen’, and one of the key elements will be to be able to cooperate between the main platform and the wingman. So we’re working on it with the French MOD. We are still gathering requirements from the French MOD in order to know exactly what will be the main requirement, both for the main platforms and the wingman.”
Brunet went into detail on some of the thinking at work behind the roles envisioned for the UGV ‘wingmen’:
“I think the French MoD has made quite a smart move on the UGV, on the wingman. The first capability that the UGV has to cover is what we call beyond line of sight [BLOS] capabilities, and also the counter-UAV [C-UAV] capabilities. And so you will have one or two, maybe wingmen, depending on how far we can improve the technology before fielding those capabilities. And interestingly, it will be a mix between both UGVs, and it’s very smart, because when you think about BLOS capabilities, that means that you need to have access to the sky in order to launch the effectors, for that you need to be in an open space, that means that everyone can see you from the sky. And you know, with UAVs, you can very quickly become a target. So the thing is that when you have the main gun, you can hide below the trees, try to avoid detection, but when you’re firing NLOS [non-line of sight] and BLOS capabilities, you need to have access to the sky, that means you are vulnerable. The second thing is also when you want to have the counter-UAV capabilities, you need also to see the sky, that means that you can be seen from the sky, so you’re also vulnerable. So, for those two inputs on capabilities, I think it’s quite smart to put these capabilities on UGVs.”
Outsourcing the C-UAV mission to UGV wingmen makes a lot of sense. When looking at modern armoured vehicles, many of them already have pretty overcrowded turrets, and finding the space, weight allowance, and power (SWaP) for yet more subsystems is becoming extremely difficult. Offloading new systems onto UGV wingmen effectively solves this problem, and comes with other advantages, such as much more space and weight available to dedicate to these systems, and, as Brunet said, outsourcing some of the risk involved with specific tasks.
To work as a wingman to CAPINT, any UGV accompanying the tank will have to maintain similar levels of mobility and terrain trafficability, to be able to keep up with the tank across various terrain types. This will almost inevitably mean a tracked vehicle, but one which would have to be larger in size. Brunet explained, “The thing is that, see, that kind of platform [CAPINT], you can cross ditches as large as 3.5 metres, so we need also the wingman to be quite large, and presently we don’t have within KNDS the right platform for that, so we will work on it, and maybe sooner or later we will be able to propose to the French MoD a solution as a wingman.”
Yet the company does not envision these UGVs as being readily attritable, since mounting sophisticated BLOS or C-UAV weaponry is likely to come with a price tag. When Warsight inquired into whether KNDS were looking for a light platform, Brunet replied, “How light, will it be? That’s the question. Because obviously it won’t be cheap, so you would like to have at least a bit of armour on it…you don’t want to lose it, really, at the first artillery, or the first drone. And by the way, because you will need a tracked vehicle, which has a long hull to be able to follow the MBTs in cross country, and you will probably have, nevertheless, regardless of how much armour you want on it, you will have something much heavier than 10 tonnes, you can have at least something like 15 or 20 tonnes.”
Indeed, Brunet’s point poses a challenge regarding finding adequate contenders among the UGV market. The length requirement alone rules out a substantial portion of the UGV market today, due to many models tending to be on the shorter side, without the required level of trench-crossing capability. So who might the potential contenders be? Coincidentally, two of them were on display at Eurosatory 2026.
REFURBOT
KNDS, in conjunction with French company S2M Equipment unveiled REFURBOT, a UGV variant of the AMX-30B2 tank, robotised using KNDS’ Toxo module, and mounting an ARX-25 dual-feed 25 mm cannon, chambered in the 25 × 137 mm cartridge. This is supplemented by a 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun (GPMG).
While the AMX-30 platform should be able to meet most of the criteria Brunet described, and at relatively low cost, due to recycling old hulls, the question remains whether there are sufficient numbers of serviceable hulls readily available. All told, 3,571 AMX-30 hulls were produced, of which 1,355 reportedly went to France. A very small number of these are still in service in the form of engineer or recovery vehicles, while some of the remaining hulls have been scrapped, and some others may be in storage.
Maintaining a fleet of AMX-30 based UGVs will therefore likely require a significantly larger number of hulls than the intended UGV fleet, as with no active production line, sustainment will mean cannibalising older hulls for spare parts. France may also opt to buy spare hulls from AMX-30 users abroad, but this would negate some of the cost argument. 3D printing the spare parts might be possible, but it is not a certainty if this is applicable in all cases.
Another possibility would be to robotise the Leopard 1, produced in far greater numbers, at 6,485 Leopard 1 hulls. However, France was not a Leopard 1 user, and so doesn’t have the spare hulls sitting around, meaning it would need to buy them. Moreover, many of the most readily-available hulls from several users have already been refurbished and sent to into service with Ukraine.
TRACKX heavy UGV
Patria, in conjunction with RENK unveiled a concept model for a heavy UGV based on Patria’s TRACKX platform. This consisted of a modified hull front with the crew compartment removed, and the rear dismount compartment replaced with a flatbed load area compatible with palletised loads. RENK modified the HSWL 076 transmission with their drive-by-wire system.
The version shown at Eurosatory was also shown fitted with Kongsberg Protector CUAS remote weapon station (RWS) fitted with a Kongsberg DR 100 drone detection radar. Its primary armament is a a 14-round launcher from Arnold Defence (presumably named ‘LAND-LGR14’ if their designations stay consistent), intended to launch 70 mm guided rockets, such as the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS). The secondary armament shown was a coaxial 7.62 mm GPMG.
TRACKX is an extremely mobile vehicle which could meet the majority of the mobility requirements Brunet spoke of. Additionally, by virtue of being a new vehicle, there would be an active production line to provide spares and support. However, weight allowance and protection would be in question.
The baseline TRACKX weighs 11.5 tonnes empty, and a maximum combat weight of 15 tonnes, but these figures represent its manned variant. By virtue of lacking a crew or crew compartment, the UGV variant is probably quite a lot lighter. Notionally, this should give the weight headroom to up-armour critical parts of the vehicle if needed, but likely only to a limit of 15 tonnes. Whether this would be enough to meet the criteria is unclear.
On paper, either of the aforementioned options could do the job, however, based on the conversation with Brunet, it seems there is still some work to be done before the requirements for the CAPINT wingman UGV are finalised.
