The Bundeswehr has had “Leopard” main battle tanks in its inventory for decades, manufactured by Rheinmetall and KMW. Rheinmetall is now breaking new ground in Italy and is relying on the “Panther”.
A new heavyweight in the construction of battle tanks is emerging in the European defense industry. The German arms company Rheinmetall and the Italian arms manufacturer Leonardo announced in Rome that they were setting up a joint company in which both partners each hold 50 percent of the shares. They expect formal approval from the authorities by the beginning of 2025. The first major order is an order from the Italian army with a total value of more than 20 billion euros.
The new company will have its headquarters in Rome. The operational center is to be located in the northern Italian port city of La Spezia, where Leonardo already has a factory. 60 percent of the activities should be in Italy. This primarily involves the construction of main battle and infantry fighting vehicles – also for the armies of other countries in Europe and beyond.
“New heavyweight in European tank construction”
The “Panther” developed by Rheinmetall is to be the basis for the new steel colossus of battle tanks and the Rheinmetall Lynx infantry fighting vehicle is to be the basis for the new infantry fighting vehicle. The project was made public in July when the two companies signed a letter of intent.
“We are creating a new heavyweight in European tank construction,” said Rheinmetall boss Armin Papperger. The aim is “primarily the Italian market, but in the future also other partner states that need modernization in the area of their combat systems.” Leonardo CEO Roberto Cingolani said they wanted to develop cutting-edge technologies that would be competitive on an international level.
Order books are fuller than ever before
The Italian Leonardo Group emerged from the former state-owned company Finmeccanica. The Italian state is still the largest individual shareholder today. With its more than 50,000 employees, Leonardo recently achieved annual sales of more than 15 billion euros. The Italians are also involved in the construction of the F-35 and Eurofighter fighter jets, as well as suppliers to Airbus and Boeing.
Rheinmetall is Germany’s largest arms company, with sales of 7.2 billion euros in 2023 and 34,000 employees. The Düsseldorf-based company’s order books are fuller than ever before; demand has been through the roof since the start of the Ukraine war in 2022.
Source: Stern
