Leonardo and Rheinmetall have officially established a 50:50 joint venture to drive forward European military vehicle production, with a primary focus on equipping the Italian Army.
Announced on 15 October 2024, the new company, Leonardo Rheinmetall Military Vehicles (LRMV), will be headquartered in Rome, with operational facilities based in La Spezia.
The companies aim to become a central player in European defence vehicle development and production, pending final regulatory approvals expected by early 2025.
The joint venture’s initial goal is to develop and deliver a new Italian Main Battle Tank (MBT) based on Rheinmetall’s Panther KF51 platform and the Lynx Armoured Infantry Combat System (AICS). This collaboration will play a key role in Italy’s Army modernisation programme, which envisions the procurement of over 1,000 armoured vehicles in 16 different variants.
These will include anti-aircraft, anti-tank, and reconnaissance configurations, all based on the modular design of the Lynx platform.
Armin Papperger, CEO of Rheinmetall, emphasized the importance of the joint venture, stating: “We are creating a new heavyweight in European tank production… primarily addressing the Italian market but also targeting other nations in need of modernising their combat systems.” Leonardo CEO Roberto Cingolani added: “This is a significant step towards the creation of a European defence system based on shared platforms, aiming at international competitiveness.”
The Italian MBT and AICS are positioned to meet both domestic military requirements and international demand, especially from European partners looking to modernise their defence capabilities.
The partnership will see Leonardo taking charge of developing mission systems, electronics, and weapons integration, while Rheinmetall contributes advanced vehicle platforms. Final assembly and testing will take place in Italy, with 60% of the project’s activity occurring domestically.
its very interesting I’m not sure where the Italian defence budget is getting all this money from for capital investment..but they are really spending..they are planning to spend around 20billion dollars on a brand new MBT and brand new Infantry fighting vehicle ( meaning they will have more MBTs and IFVs than the British army as they move to a 400 MBT force) …when you consider how much money they are spaffing on their surface fleet, ( they are going to have more modern escorts than the RN in the late 20s and 30s) a modern subsurface fleet as well… Read more »
Wouldn’t it be rational for the BA/MoD to join in this effort at some level? The Italians are evidently cooperative in the GCAP initiative, and Rheinmetall is apparently a reasonable partner of BAES in the CR-3 programme. The level of participation could span the spectrum from observation to full partnership, based upon developments and contract negotiations. Realize the Germans have a checkered track record, but there is always the possibility that they have learned from past mistakes. 🤔😳😉🤞
Not a bad idea.
It is just a leopard 2 with a new turret.
It is interesting. Their defence budget is what 1.46%. They are the second most indebted country in Europe with debt to gdp of 137%. A deficit of 7.2% which they hope to reduce to 5.2% by 2028. By all accounts they are broke.
Note that big part of that money is reinvested in their industries, including the F35 Cameri facility.
Not sure of your numbers. Italy is currently modernizing just 125 Ariete MBTs which will remain in service until 2035. They have been spending> 60% of their budget on personnel for years with only @20% on equipment purchases. But some of their decisions have been impressive. For less than a third of the cost of the QEs, they have acquired 2 flexible F35 carriers, albeit with lower theoretical aircraft numbers. They are only buying 20 F35B. The biggest difference between Italy and UK or France is the absence of any expenditure on nuclear. They also have the second largest manufacturing… Read more »
Today, Germany is the only serious European MBT manufacturer with the capability to build them in significant numbers. The UK needs to join this consortium if allowed and make a significant contribution to the CH3 replacement.