Leonardo, Rheinmetall in JV for Italian Tank, Lynx Infantry Vehicle

Leonardo and Rheinmetall have signed an MoU to form a 50:50 joint venture for developing and commercializing new land defense systems, including a Main Battle Tank and the Lynx Platform for the Italian Army.

In particular, the future joint venture - headquartered in Italy - will be the Lead System Integrator, prime-contractor and system integrator, in both the Italian programs (MBT and AICS) and will define the roadmap for the participation in the future European Main Ground Combat System (MGCS).

Within the MBT and Armored Infantry Combat System (AICS) programs, mission systems, electronics suites and weapons integration will be developed and produced by Leonardo according to the requirements of the Italian client. The technologies will also be the basis for the development of the future European MBT (MGCS) and the new versions intended for international export. With the newly developed Panther main battle tank and the new Lynx infantry fighting vehicle, Rheinmetall has the appropriate basic technology on which to build in both programmes.

Final assembly lines, homologation testing, delivering activities and the logistic support will be done in Italy with an Italian workshare of 60%.

The implementation of the MoU signed on July 3 will be subject to prior approval by the competent regulatory authorities, including the European Commission and the respective national competition authorities.

According to a Handelsblatt report, Rome will purchase at least 350 Lynx armored fighting vehicles and over 200 Panther main battle tanks over a 15-year period.