In an interview with ‘Welt am Sonntag’, Papperger expressed concerns over France’s intention to reduce funding, which may lead to project delays and cancellations. He noted that the four companies involved in the MGCS initiative have received only €25 million over the past decade, a sum he described as insufficient. The MGCS project, aimed at developing a new main battle tank, is a joint effort involving Rheinmetall and KNDS Deutschland, with initial prototypes expected to be operational in the early 2030s, while full operational capability is not anticipated until the 2040s.