The European Tank Union

MARTE is the name of the new European tank union – the abbreviation stands for “Main ARmored Tank of Europe.” MARTE's goal is to conduct studies and develop designs for a future battle tank system that meets current and future threats and the harmonized needs of the participating European member states.

MARTE Key Facts:

• MARTE ARGE leading a consortium of 51 entities from 11 EU Member States plus Norway
• MARTE project awarded by European Commission with a grant of approximately €20 Mio. from the European Defence Fund (EDF)
• Comprehensive Consortium to design the next generation, future Main Battle Tank system
• Grant Agreement signed and Kick-Off-Meeting conducted: Project successfully launched

The European defense sector takes a significant step forward with the launch of the Project MARTE (acronym for Main ARmoured Tank of Europe), a cutting-edge and highly promising initiative designed to strengthen Europe’s technological autonomy by addressing the crucial asset of a Main Battle Tank (MBT) System.

Coordinated and led by MARTE ARGE GbR, a joint venture company between KNDS Deutschland GmbH & Co.KG and Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH, the MARTE project brings together complementary industrial partners including leading, large entities as well as MidCaps, research institutions and innovative Small and Medium Enitities (SMEs). The ambitious proposal prepared and submitted to the European Commission has been awarded with a Grant from the European Defence Fund of approximately €20 Mio. In addition to the funding granted by the European Commission, the MARTE consortium receives strong support from in total 11 Ministries of Defense (MoDs) as potential future customers. Led by the German MoD, the MoDs from the following Member States are contributing: Belgium, Spain, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Romania and Sweden. At a time of growing geopolitical uncertainty, this initiative expresses the desire for greater strategic autonomy in defense and security matters and thus MARTE represents a strategic investment in Europe’s defense capabilities.

MARTE aims to conduct study and design activities to create a future MBT-System, that adequately meets current and future threats, and the harmonized needs of the European Member States involved. By integrating innovative and disruptive technologies a resilient defense system is to be designed, tailored to the evolving challenges of modern warfare and considering lessons learned from current conflicts.

To achieve this ambitious goal, a consortium composed of 51 legal entities from 12 European Countries (11 Member States plus Norway) has agreed to contribute their respective expertise and gained experiences in the best possible way. MARTE is fostering technological innovation and leveraging cross-border collaboration.

In its role as coordinator, MARTE ARGE takes over the project coordination and manages the project with support of the consulting company Erdyn and a core team of five top-tier defense companies: KNDS Deutschland GmbH & Co.KG and Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH (both Germany), Leonardo SPA (Italy), Indra Sistemas SA (Spain) and SAAB AB (Sweden).

Building on their pertinent and significant know-how and know-why in the field of Main Battle Tanks, each of them manages one of the five technical Work Packages in which the project’s scope has been clustered – with all further companies (see depiction below) contributing with their relevant technical knowledge.

With MARTE ARGE and the European Commission signing the Grant Agreement, the MARTE project started on 01st of December 2024 officially. By conducting the Kick-Off Meeting on 5th and 6th of December 2024 in Stockholm, MARTE ARGE as project coordinator brought together both key stakeholders as well as all consortium partners and launched the project with great success.