(Bloomberg) -- Germany and France will seal an agreement on Friday to jointly develop a new battle tank as Europe races to shore up its defenses in light of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and his French counterpart Sebastien Lecornu told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper they will sign a memorandum of understanding on the project in Paris on Friday.

“We are jointly developing a system of the future that is geared toward what we need — from artificial intelligence and state-of-the-art sensor technology to the possibility of using the system unmanned in certain situations,” Pistorius said.

The Franco-German relationship is emerging from a difficult phase after the two neighbors clashed over defense, energy and European finance, with little alchemy between French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Both leaders are now seeking more common ground ahead of European Parliament elections in June as far-right parties have become a threat for both.

The French defense minister said the Main Ground Combat System project will draw from lessons learned in Ukraine combat, and ensure the tank works well with other weapons. Both governments also hope to see progress on another major Franco-German defense innovation, the Future Combat Air System, which involves the development of a next-generation fighter jet.

Macron plans to visit Germany from May 26-28 and make up for his postponed state visit, which was canceled last summer due to escalating street riots in France.

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