For the German Rheinmetall, the matter was understood: the experience and reputation acquired by the designer of the 120 mm Rh-120 L44 cannon which equips the Leopard 2 justified, according to the Düsseldorf group, alone, that the design of the main gun of the Franco-German MGCS program be attributed to him. For this, Rheinmetall intended to rely on its new 130 mm L/51 cannon, presented 5 years ago, despite the tests carried out by the French Nexter, which had tested a new 140 mm cannon. on Leclerc chassis in 2019, as part of the Future Tank Main Armament, or FTAM, program.
Obviously, the French armored specialist, as well as its German partner Krauss Maffei Wegman, with whom it forms the joint venture KNDS, have decided to challenge Rheinmetall right in its own backyard, with the ASCALON concept, presented by Nexter as a innovative and scalable solution capable of dealing with all armored targets in the next 50 years. It must be recognized that when studying the characteristics of this concept, ASCALON has all the assets to hold its own against Rheinmetall's L/51, and even surpass it in many areas.
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