Italian defence giant Leonardo on Wednesday announced a joint venture with Rheinmetall of Germany for the “tanks of the future”.
Leonardo and Rheinmetall announced a “strategic agreement for the development of the new generation of land defence systems”.
They said it would lead to a 50:60 joint venture, with 60 per cent of the venture’s activities carried out in Italy.
“The first objective is the development of two vehicles – Italian Main Battle and Lynx, Armoured Infantry Combat System – destined for the Italian Army”, but also “with an international export perspective”.
“The move is also strategic in the context of opportunities for major European Defence programmes: it traces the roadmap of the future European Main Ground Combat System, a new heavy tank.” German media reported earlier that Italy was set to order 500 panzers from Rheinmetall.