Leonardo-KNDS Negotiations on Italy’s Main Battle Tank Hit Roadblock

Leonardo has announced the interruption of negotiations with the French firm, KNDS to define a common configuration for the Italian Army’s Main Battle Tank program.

A Leonardo press release said, “despite the efforts undertaken,” the negotiations to define a common configuration for the Main Battle Tank (MBT) have been interrupted indicating a divergence of views on the Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) which seeks to develop a common tank and other components within the MCGS system for European nations including France, Germany and Italy.

"Leonardo confirms its commitment to provide the Italian Army with an interoperable and up to date solution, satisfying the present requirements and future developments toward MGCS, also through cooperation with other qualified international partners."

KNDS and Leonardo signed an agreement on December 13, 2023 to jointly implement the planned MBT procurement programme with a solution based on the German-made LEOPARD 2 A8.

The Companies will collaborate in the development, manufacturing and maintenance of the LEOPARD 2 A8 solution for the Italian Army.

The alliance between Leonardo and KNDS had aimed to create further production and development capabilities in Italy and to use these for future European and export projects.

The Italian Ministry of Defence is currently working on two major programs for the renewal of its Land Forces: firstly, the procurement of the LEOPARD MBT with support vehicles and, secondly, new Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFV) under the MGCS program.