Two of Europe’s leading arms companies are to set up a €20 billion joint venture to build tanks. Leonardo and Rheinmetall said they would develop, industrialise and commercialise a fourth-generation main battle tank for the Italian army.
Leonardo is the the Italian defence and aerospace group formerly known as Finmeccanica. It is best known in Britain for its helicopter assembly plant formerly known as AgustaWestland. Rheinmetall played a central role in the arming of Germany in the two world wars of the 20th century.
Set against a backdrop of rearmament in Europe as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the 15-year deal aims to produce hundreds of tanks and combat vehicles. Reports in the German and Italian media indicated that the orders from Italy could include up to 1,000 Lynx armoured fighting vehicles and more than 280 Panther main battle tanks.
“Leonardo and Rheinmetall are joining forces to realise ambitious projects, set new standards and open the door to a new generation of state-of-the-art combat vehicles in and for Europe,” Armin Papperger, 61, the chief executive of Rheinmetall, said. “In doing so, we are addressing the Italian market as well as other partner countries that have a need for modernisation in the field of combat systems.”
Roberto Cingolani, 62, the chief executive of Leonardo, said the 50-50 joint venture was “a unique opportunity to develop state-of-the-art main battle tanks and infantry vehicles” for European allies as a whole. He said the venture would have its headquarters in Italy and would “define the ‘road map’ for the participation in the future European main ground combat system”, initially developed by France and Germany after Britain left the European Union, to replace nations’ ageing fleets of tanks.
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Fiat, the Italian automotive brand, produced tanks for the Italian army during the 20th century. Italy’s present Ariete class tanks, a third-generation model, went into production 30 years ago, made by Iveco, the truck company, and Oto Melara, a subsidiary of Leonardo.
