EDA plans joint programmes to procure or upgrade MBTs
The latest Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD) report mentions an initiative to develop and procure a next-generation MBT in the long term, as well as modernisation and upgrades of in-service platforms in the short term. Any solution will have to address aspects of C2, target acquisition, firepower, mobility, survivability and sustainability.
The European Defence Agency (EDA) is increasing efforts to defragment the continent's defence landscape, with a cooperative effort to develop a new common MBT for 11 of its 26 member states.
The plan was included in the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD) report, the recommendations of which were approved during the EDA Ministerial Steering Board meeting on 20 November.
New joint projects can be launched in various formats under the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) framework, within the EDA or in other bilateral or multinational frameworks.
The MBT initiative aims to develop and procure a next-generation platform in the long
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