A new European heavyweight in land weapons has just seen the light and competes head to head with the Franco-German tank manufacturer KNDS. On Tuesday, October 15, two defense industry giants, the Italian Leonardo and the German Rheinmetall, announced that they would join forces to create a joint company, Leonardo Rheinmetall Military Vehicles (LRMV), with the aim of manufacturing tanks and combat vehicles. of infantry. The new entity, based in Italy, will initially produce for the Italian armed forces, but aims to supply other countries around the world in the future. The first order placed by Rome is considerable: 23 billion euros, for the eventual delivery of a thousand armored vehicles.
The agreement provides for the construction of two vehicles, one based on the Panther KF51 assault tank and the other on the Lynx armored infantry vehicle, both developed by Rheinmetall. But they will not be simple copies: Leonardo must provide the new teams with his cutting-edge technological know-how in electronic systems, which involve a spatial dimension and the use of artificial intelligence to analyze the battlefield.
Almost 60% of production must take place in Italy. The agreement provides for manufacturing in record time: the first tanks could be delivered within two or three years. The Italian-German rapprochement concluded within a few weeks, after the breakdown, in June, of negotiations between Leonardo and KNDS.
Agility in an emergency context
By showing, on Tuesday in Rome, their speed, their good understanding and their common ambition, Roberto Cingolani, CEO of Leonardo, and Armin Papperger, CEO of Rheinmetall, sent a strong signal in a Europe that seeks to rearm itself. “This is an important step towards creating a European defense system based on specialized shared platforms. Rheinmetall and Leonardo aim to develop cutting-edge technologies capable of competing internationally.” said Cingolani, who explained that delays considered too long had played a major role in the failure of the merger with KNDS.
In this new partnership, Germans and Italians not only demonstrate their agility in an emergency context, but also their ability to form global actors outside of government maneuvers… and avoiding the Paris-Berlin axis.
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