Leonardo and Rheinmetall JV to supply Lynx KF-41 variants to Italian Army

A Lynx KF-41 AFV, displayed at the Nettuno military training area, the headquarters of Italyʼs Technical Office for Army Armaments, on 3 February 2025. (Rheinmetall)

Leonardo-Rheinmetall Military Vehicles (LRMV), a joint venture (JV) between Italyʼs Leonardo SpA and Germanyʼs Rheinmetall AG, announced its first supply contract of 21 armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) to the Italian Army, the companies announced in releases on 5 November.

All of the 21 AFVs will have Rheinmetallʼs Lynx KF-41 chassis. Five will have Rheinmetallʼs Lance turret, armed with Rheinmetallʼs 30 mm×173 MK30-2/ABM cannon. Sixteen will have Leonardoʼs Hitfist turret with a similar NATO firing 30 mm×173 cannon.

The agreement includes upgrading the whole fleet to the latter (Hitfist) configuration, including an additional 30 optional vehicles, and training and simulation systems to better train crews.

The delivery of the first vehicle is expected by the end of 2025. They will make up part of Italyʼs Army Armoured Combat System (A2CS) programme (originally called AICS – Armoured Infantry Combat System) to renew Italyʼs fleet of heavy armoured vehicles. This will eventually see the procurement of 1,050 AFVs and at least 132 KF-51 Panther main battle tanks (MBTs), with Panther deliveries taking place in 2030–40.

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