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KNDS France Tests Ascalon 140mm Gun for Next Generation of Main Battle Tanks.
On January 4, 2025, KNDS France released impressive footage of its ASCALON gun in action, showcasing its performance and adaptability during recent tests. This new phase of testing follows several years of development and highlights the gun’s capabilities as a key component of the future Main Ground Combat System (MGCS), a major European defense program.
The ASCALON gun was in action during recent tests. (Picture source: KNDS)
The MGCS project, initially launched in 2017, was delayed after reaching the SADS Part 1 study phase. However, it was revived in April 2024 through a protocol agreement signed by French Minister of Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, and his German counterpart, Boris Pistorius. This agreement allowed the focus to shift back to military needs, prioritizing operational requirements over industrial demands, drawing inspiration from the successful collaboration of the Future Combat Air System (SCAF) between France, Germany, and Spain.
As part of the MGCS initiative, KNDS is developing a "family of systems" that includes next-generation tanks, drones, robots, and other components, all interconnected via a combat cloud. The project is organized into eight main capability pillars: platform, turrets and guns, secondary armament, communication and command systems, simulation, sensors, drone defense, and logistics. Additionally, the creation of a joint project company involving KNDS France, Thales, KNDS Deutschland, and Rheinmetall was planned, but it has faced delays, with the Bundestag yet to approve the next phase of the project.
A major point of contention in the MGCS project is the choice of main armament for the future combat vehicle. Rheinmetall has proposed its 130mm gun, while KNDS France has advocated for its ASCALON system, which uses telescoped ammunition stored in an autoloading turret and capable of being "programmed beyond the line of sight." The primary advantage of the ASCALON lies in its minimal barrel wear and flexibility in terms of ammunition selection.
At the 2024 EuroSatory exhibition, KNDS France demonstrated the versatility of the ASCALON, with the system capable of being equipped with 120mm to 140mm guns, with caliber changes completed in under an hour. The company emphasized that this innovative concept offers significant growth potential, enabling performance levels that current technologies cannot match.
The next phase of testing will involve firing the ASCALON gun integrated into a combat vehicle turret, scheduled for later this year. This test will evaluate the system’s capabilities and its potential integration into the MGCS.
In the meantime, KNDS France has launched a media campaign to highlight ASCALON’s performance. Recent images shared on social media showcased the system’s ability to quickly change calibers and its precision with newly developed armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS) rounds, such as the 120mm "Shard." These rounds successfully pierced two reinforced concrete slabs, several meters apart, with remarkable accuracy.
François Groshanny, director of the "Future Combat Vehicle" program at KNDS France, recently outlined the four key features of the ASCALON system. These include unprecedented muzzle and target power, the ability to change caliber in under 30 minutes, a compact design using a "super shot" architecture, and the system's integration into a turret with minimal internal footprint, thus allowing for more personnel to be housed in the chassis.
As the MGCS project continues to evolve, the ASCALON gun is expected to play a key role in shaping the future of armored combat systems, with its advanced features and flexible design offering a significant advantage on the battlefield.