A consortium of German and French defence companies intend to establish a joint venture for the planned development of a state-of-the-art land combat system. In a statement, the companies KNDS Deutschland (formerly KMW), KNDS France, Rheinmetall AG, Rheinmetall Landsysteme and Thales welcomed the agreement signed on Friday by Germany’s Defence Minister Boris Pistorius and his French counterpart Sébastien Lecornu for the multi-billion euro armaments project. They spoke of an “essential milestone for the development of a superior land combat system for the armed forces of the future.” The four c…