The Franco-German defence industrial partnership has achieved its most significant milestone to date, with John Cockerill Defense and Daimler Truck officially securing the contract to supply 7,000 new-generation military trucks to the French Army under the PL6T (6-tonne logistics carriers) program. The contract, worth an estimated €5 billion and spanning over a decade of deliveries, represents a decisive validation of the bilateral cooperation model that Future Warfare Magazine first reported in September 2024.

For John Cockerill Defense, which acquired Arquus in 2024, this contract consolidates the Belgian group's position as a major player in the global land defence market. The award demonstrates that cross-border European defence consolidation can deliver competitive solutions capable of winning against purely national alternatives. Arquus CEO Emmanuel Levacher emphasized that the ZETROS platform, already deployed by over 15,000 units internationally including Canadian, Lithuanian, and Ukrainian forces, brings proven battlefield credentials that French forces require for high-intensity operations.

The French Army gains a capability upgrade precisely when doctrine demands it. The PL6T program forms a cornerstone of the service's "Toward a Combat-Ready Army" transformation initiative, aimed at modernizing logistics vehicle fleets to meet the demands of sustained high-intensity engagements. The new trucks will replace aging GBC 180 and TRM 10000 platforms that have struggled to sustain high-tempo manoeuvre during recent exercises. With enhanced mobility, ballistic protection options, and reliable performance across all theatres of operation, the ZETROS by Arquus addresses critical capability gaps exposed by contemporary conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Why the ZETROS won

As we already explained when the partneship was launched, the selection reflects several converging factors.

First, the partnership satisfied stringent French procurement requirements for industrial sovereignty while leveraging German engineering excellence. Militarisation, systems integration, protected cabs, customer acceptance, and lifecycle support will all be executed at Arquus facilities in Limoges, Garchizy, and Saint-Nazaire, preserving French industrial know-how and employment. Base vehicles manufactured at Daimler Truck's Wörth am Rhein and Molsheim (Alsace) sites ensure rapid series production with capacities for several hundred trucks monthly.

Secondly, the ZETROS 6x6 permanent chassis provides the tactical performance French forces demanded: payload capacity exceeding 6 tonnes regardless of configuration, proven air-transportability for expeditionary operations, and combat-proven durability in demanding environments. The platform's modular architecture accommodates versatile configurations from armoured troop transport to unprotected logistics variants, enabling a single vehicle family to serve multiple mission profiles.

Finally, the Arquus-Daimler alliance met financial thresholds that other competitors could not. As Future Warfare Magazine reported in July 2025, Arquus required partnership with Daimler Truck's €54 billion industrial base to meet DGA's €600 million turnover requirement for prime contractors on the FTLT program.

The PL6T contract signals broader momentum in Franco-German defence industrial cooperation despite political headwinds affecting larger programmes like MGCS and FCAS. With production extending beyond 2035, the partnership establishes a foundation for potential export variants targeting European NATO allies seeking similar modernization. John Cockerill Defense CEO Thierry Renaudin indicated the program strengthens the group's competitive positioning for future European land defence competitions, suggesting the ZETROS by Arquus platform may become the baseline for a new generation of export-ready tactical trucks assembled on European soil.

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