Short term: more Leopard 2A8s
The quickest way for European armies to get modern tanks is to keep building the one they already know. Germany has ordered 123 Leopard 2A8s and announced plans for 75 more, and at least six other countries have ordered the type. Most deliveries run from the mid-2020s to the early 2030s. Older Leopard 2s are also being upgraded, so the Leopard 2 family will remain in front-line service well into the 2040s.
Medium term: the Leopard 3 (Leopard 2AX)
In 2025 Germany began work on a much more heavily modified tank based on the 2A8, called the Leopard 3 or Leopard 2AX. KNDS Deutschland, Rheinmetall and Hensoldt are involved. Reported features include a 130 mm Rheinmetall gun, an unmanned turret with an autoloader (reducing the crew to three), a new engine and a hard-kill system against anti-tank missiles. Production is expected in the early 2030s. More on the Leopard 3.
KNDS has also shown the Leopard 2A-RC 3.0, a demonstrator with a remote-controlled turret and the crew seated in the hull, which explores the same ideas.
Long term: MGCS, and doubts about it
The Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) was launched by Germany and France in 2018 to replace both the Leopard 2 and France's Leclerc, with service entry planned for around 2035. It has been slowed by disagreements over workshare, technology and requirements. A technology demonstrator agreement was only signed in January 2025. In October 2025 the French and German leaders ordered a review, and by mid-2026 analysts were describing the program as stalled, with deliveries unlikely before 2045, if at all.
Meanwhile, KNDS and Rheinmetall announced a separate European tank effort called MARTE in 2025, and France has said it may need its own interim tank.
The rival: KF51 Panther
Rheinmetall, which makes the Leopard 2's gun, unveiled its own tank in 2022: the KF51 Panther, with a 130 mm gun and a three-person crew. Italy is moving to buy it through a Leonardo–Rheinmetall joint venture, with an initial EUR 5.14 billion procurement launched in September 2026. The Panther gives European buyers a real alternative to the Leopard for the first time in decades.
What will tanks look like in 2040?
Ukraine has shown that tanks are vulnerable to cheap drones, mines and top-attack missiles. Every future design (Leopard 3, Panther, MGCS) responds with the same ideas: active protection systems that shoot down incoming threats, smaller crews protected in the hull, more sensors and networking, and bigger guns to defeat the next generation of Russian armor.
Frequently asked questions
What will replace the Leopard 2?
Germany's plan is the Leopard 3 (Leopard 2AX) in the early 2030s, with the Franco-German MGCS as the long-term successor if it survives.
Is there a Leopard 3?
Yes, in development. It is based on the Leopard 2A8 with a 130 mm gun, an unmanned turret and a three-person crew. Production is expected in the early 2030s.
What is MGCS?
The Main Ground Combat System, a Franco-German program launched in 2018 to replace the Leopard 2 and Leclerc. It has been heavily delayed.