Franco-German defense giant Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Nexter (KNDS) have unveiled a new main battle tank for European customers at the 2026 Eurosatory trade show.

KNDS, in case you are unaware, is a conglomeration of the companies behind the German Leopard 2 and French Leclerc main battle tanks (MBTs). Today, they are a “pan-European land defense company, uniting over 11,000 employees with a €4.4 billion in revenue and a backlog of €33.1 billion in 2025.”

The new tank, called the CAPINT (“Intermediate Capability”), is effectively a Leopard 2A8 hull with a futuristic unmanned turret, integration with robotic vehicles, and drones.

According to KNDS, this will be something of a stopgap for France’s planned Main Ground Combat System (MGCS), which is taking a long time to arrive. So, the idea goes, instead of waiting until 2040, this new tank should be deployable during the 2030s.

Its chassis, reportedly, offers the new tank proven mobility and armor, while also benefiting from the existing logistics chain and lower development risk. It also provides the tank with a 1,500 hp (1,119 kW) diesel engine, which is the same power class as current Western MBTs.

The power plant might also be supplemented with battery packs (to enhance the onboard energy storage) along with an associated electric drive train to reduce the infrared and acoustic signatures.

KNDS’ new toys for Europe

The most interesting part is the crewless turret. Unlike conventional MBT turrets, no crew sits inside the turret itself. Instead, it is remotely operated, allowing the crew to remain protected within the hull.

As no crew needs to be present, this enables the turret to be smaller and lighter. But this doesn’t mean the tank will be without serious firepower.

According to reports, the tank will come with a KNDS ASCALON 120 mm smoothbore gun with an autoloader. This makes it compatible with the current NATO standard ammunition stockpiles.

KNDS does note, however, that this can be upgraded to larger calibers in the future without the need to redesign the entire turret. The scalable design also gives KNDS room to introduce larger calibers in the future, should battlefield requirements change.

All fairly standard so far, but an interesting wrinkle in the design is plans to give it some drone buddies. Robotic vehicles and drones will fight alongside the tank, forming a manned-unmanned team. In this configuration, the tank will act as an armored command platform.

Few concrete details have been released, but this will likely include reconnaissance drones to scout ahead and counter-drone systems for protection. The counter drone systems are likely to employ a mix of hard kill and soft kill means. These might include active protection systems and tube-launched interceptor drones.

Next iteration of Leopard 2 A-RC 3.0 study

Separately, KNDS also presented a further development of its fully self-financed study on Leopard 2 A-RC 3.0. It features a remote-controlled turret and a three-man crew.

The concept revolves around an innovative, unmanned turret with its unique weapon mounting, this prevents the weapon from dipping into the vehicle, thus creating a possibility of freeing up space inside the hull.

The compact crew arrangement also reduces the armor protection volume, leading to weight reduction. This results in an improved power-to-weight ratio, which in-turn increases tactical mobility.

The Leopard 2 A-RC 3.0 can integrate different gun calibers from 120 mm, 130 mm, to 140 mm. It also incorporates an advanced secondary armament to counter the persistent threat of drone swarms.

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Chinese defense supplier Harbin Xinguang Optic-Electronics Technology has unveiled a new man-portable. anti-drone laser weapon. Unveiled at the Defence Information Equipment and Technology Exhibition 2026 in Beijing, the miniaturized directed-energy weapon brings to life something once thought not possible.

The new system is part of the “Lijian” (roughly translated as “sharp swords”) range of lasers, which can allegedly shoot down drones at ranges up to 3,900 feet (1,200 meters). Being much smaller, this new portable version can’t quite reach those ranges, however.

Like its bigger brothers, the new system works by focusing a laser beam on a distant target, like a drone. The beam can then burn through wires, damage sensors and cameras, or overheat battery packs.

The theory is that once a critical part fails, the drone crashes. This capability is something many militaries are already rushing to develop, but the real breakthrough here is the unit’s size and weight.

According to reports, they are small enough for a single soldier to manipulate in the field. The Lijian II, for example, comes in at around 66 pounds (30 kg), with the Lijian III around 55 pounds (25 kg).

Man-portable laser power

To put that into perspective, that is roughly equivalent to carrying a machine gun plus ammunition and batteries. Still heavy, but much lighter than vehicle-mounted systems.

In the field, such systems would likely comprise a backpack that contains batteries and cooling systems. The soldier can then deploy the platform, which then tracks and targets drones visually or with optics.

All well and good, but lasers of this kind generally need a lot of power to actually work. While no technical details have been publicly released, laser weapons typically require between 20 and 50 kW.

They also require beefy cooling systems. This appears to have been solved, with reports being circulated that claim it can cool down in under 5 seconds. But again, how this was achieved has not been made public.

This all sounds impressive enough, but even futuristic weapons like lasers are not foolproof on the battlefield. They are, for example, highly susceptible to changes in weather like rain and fog, and other battlefield conditions like smoke, dust, etc.

Any of these can scatter the laser beam, subsequently dropping its effectiveness against a target. Lasers are also highly reliant on “line of sight” and must be able to see a target to hit it.

Gimmick or game-changer?

Any obstacles in the way, like buildings, hills, trees, etc, render them ineffective. There is also the issue that lasers must remain “locked” to a target for some time to be effective.

Ballistic weapons, like guns, deliver their full destructive potential on contact, while lasers need some time to do the damage. A fast-moving or maneuvering drone could, in theory, make this harder.

It is also not clear how such a small system could handle drone swarm attacks. Whatever the case may be, the new system could be an interesting evolution in anti-drone warfare.

If systems like this prove reliable, infantry units may eventually carry laser anti-drone weapons in the same way they carry machine guns or anti-tank missiles today.