Italy’s Leonardo and German company Rheinmetall have decided to establish a joint venture (JV) aiming at forming a new European nucleus for the development and production of military combat vehicles in Europe, the two companies jointly announced on 15 October 2024. They had already signed a corresponding memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Rome at the beginning of July 2024.
Rheinmetall and Leonardo will be equal shareholders (50% each) in the new company, which will be called Leonardo Rheinmetall Military Vehicles (LRMV) and have its legal headquarters in Rome with an operational headquarters in La Spezia. The definition of the agreement and the establishment of the company, which will be expected by the first quarter 2025, are subject to the usual regulatory approvals.
The primary goal of the JV will be the industrial development and subsequent marketing of a new Italian main battle tank (MBT) based on Rheinmetall’s KF51 Panther and the promotion of Rheinmetall’s Lynx infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) for the Armoured Infantry Combat System (AICS) requirement within the Italian Army’s land systems programme. The development and production of other AICS vehicles, such as recovery, engineer and bridge-laying variants, is also planned. Both partners also expect their joint products to provide extensive sales opportunities in international markets.
The new Italian MBT is slated to replace the Italian Army’s fleet of Ariete MBTs, which first entered service 30 years ago in 1994. The Italian AICS programme, meanwhile, involves the procurement of over 1,000 armoured combat systems in 16 variants. In addition to the classic IFV, there will be anti-aircraft (Skyranger), reconnaissance and anti-tank versions. All models will have a modular design and the Rheinmetall Lynx IFV would form the technological basis for these.
A 50:50 sharing of labour has been agreed for the joint venture, with 60% of the work to be carried out in Italy. This concerns in particular final assembly, acceptance testing, delivery activities and logistic support. Within the MBT and AICS programmes, mission systems, electronic suites and weapons integration will be developed and produced by Leonardo according to the requirements of the Italian client.
Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger was quoted in a joint press release as saying of the JV, “We are creating a new heavyweight in European tank production. Leonardo and Rheinmetall, two leading European suppliers of defence technology, are joining forces to carry out ambitious projects. We are primarily addressing the Italian market, but we will also be targeting other partner nations that are in need of modernising their combat systems in the future. Rheinmetall has the perfect technologies for Italy’s requirements.”
Leonardo CEO Roberto Cingolani added, “This is a significant step towards the creation of a European defence system based on specialised shared platforms. Rheinmetall and Leonardo aim at developing state-of-the-art technologies able to compete at international level.”
