The Ministry of Defence has officially launched the procurement program for the renewal of the Italian Army's heavy fleet, signing an order worth 5.14 billion euros with the joint venture Leonardo Rheinmetall Military Vehicles (Lrmv).
Contract Details
The Lrmv company — established in 2024 as an equal joint venture between Leonardo and the German Rheinmetall — is responsible for the industrial development and commercialization of the new vehicles:
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New Main Battle Tanks (NMBT): They will replace the current Ariete tank based on Rheinmetall's Panther KF51 model.
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Infantry Vehicles (A2CS): They will meet program requirements based on the German Lynx platform.The vehicles will be heavily "Italianized", with 60% of development activities conducted directly in Italy. The legal headquarters of the joint venture is in Rome, while the operational headquarters is located in La Spezia.
Timeline and Institutional Process
The procurement procedure related to the order was published on September 21 in the Anac database (National Anti-Corruption Authority). The contract signature came shortly before the end of the month, ahead of the initial forecasts that predicted a deadline within the end of the year. In early September, Leonardo's Chief Executive Officer, Lorenzo Mariani, had anticipated that the first phase of the development and production contract (particularly relating to the New Main Battle Tank) would have an estimated order of magnitude around 3.4 billion euros, later exceeded by the actual amount of 5.14 billion.
The General Program Framework
This contract represents only the first step of a plan with far broader scope.The overall program presented by the government to the Defense commissions of the Chamber and Senate provides for:
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An overall estimated value of 23.2 billion euros with a time horizon until 2040 for infantry and until 2037 for tanks.
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The overall acquisition of 272 Main Battle Tank (MBT) at an estimated cost of about 8 billion euros.
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The acquisition of 1,050 tracked combat vehicles for infantry (A2CS) for approximately 15 billion euros.
Currently, the entire program is financed for an amount equal to 8 billion euros.
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