German "Leopard" 2A7 main battle tank.

  According to foreign media reports, Europe recently launched the "Existing and Future Main Battle Tank Technology" (FMBTech) project, with 12 EU member states and 26 military-industrial enterprises, research institutions and universities in Norway participating, aiming to provide technical support for the research and development of the next generation of main battle tanks to deal with hybrid wars and future battlefield changes. The project is jointly funded by the European Defense Fund and cooperative enterprises, with a budget of 19 million euros (about 21.5 million US dollars), and the plan takes three years.

  According to reports, in local conflicts in the region, the damage rate of traditional tanks remained high under the multiple suppression of anti-tank missiles, drone swarms and electronic warfare, prompting Europe to re-examine the innovation direction of traditional land warfare equipment in the modern battlefield. In the future ground combat system, tanks are no longer independent combat units, but intelligent nodes that integrate data interconnection and offense and defense. The FMBTech project aims to integrate tanks into information combat networks, making them a hub for collaborative operations for drones, satellites, infantry and electronic warfare units.

  According to the plan, the FMBTech project will cover multiple key areas of the future battlefield. In the field of defense technology, the project plans to develop a new protection system that can resist the attacks of missiles and drone groups at the same time; in the field of information perception, it will develop a detection system equipped with artificial intelligence, aiming to scan the surrounding environment in real time and quickly identify potential threats; in the field of power technology, it will use hybrid propulsion systems to improve the concealment and continuous combat capabilities of tank operations; in the field of communication technology, it aims to realize information sharing between tanks and drones, satellites and allied combat forces, and build a collaborative combat network; in the field of electronic warfare, it is planned to develop anti-jamming technologies to ensure the communication stability of tanks in strong interference environments. If these technologies are successfully developed, it will promote the transformation of traditional land combat equipment to intelligent combat nodes, thereby improving its battlefield survivability and combat effectiveness.

  According to reports, the FMBTech project has multiple strategic significance for the construction and development of European armored forces. First, accelerate the modernization and upgrading of existing equipment. The project plans to develop modular technologies that can be adapted to main combat platforms such as "Leopard" 2 and "Leclerc" to shorten the modernization cycle of European armored forces by 40%, while reducing maintenance costs. Second, promote the installation of a new generation of main battle tanks. The project results will provide key technical support for the joint development of the fourth-generation main battle tanks by France and Germany, accelerate the installation process, and lay the foundation for the realization of standardized fifth-generation main battle tanks across Europe by 2035. Third, promote European defense autonomy. By strengthening multi-country technology exchanges and deepening internal military-industrial cooperation in Europe, this project will help reduce external technology dependence and promote Europe to achieve independent control in the field of defense.

  However, the FMBTech project faces many challenges in its advancement process. At the technical level, the threat identification accuracy rate of artificial intelligence-assisted decision-making system in a laboratory environment reaches 94%, but given the frequent occurrence of strong electromagnetic interference in modern battlefields, its reliability still needs to be verified. At the collaboration level, differences between France and Germany on the dominance of the next generation of main battle tank projects may spread to the FMBTech project, causing communication costs to rise, decision-making efficiency to be inefficient, and drag down project progress and implementation results. At the market competition level, the international tank market is fiercely competitive. The German "Leopard" 2 series main battle tanks have an advantage in the European market. The United States, South Korea and other countries have adopted the strategy of "high-end technology suppression and mid-range price dumping" to widely promote new tanks in Europe. If the finished module of the FMBTech project wants to gain a foothold in the international market, it is necessary to balance performance and cost. (Yang Runxin and Cheng Yuyi)

[Editor in charge: Wang Jinzhi]