"Leonardo and Rheinmetall have decided to establish a joint venture aiming at forming a new European nucleus for the development and production of military combat vehicles in Europe. The companies had already signed a corresponding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Rome at the beginning of July 2024," the company said.
Leonardo and Rheinmetall will be equal shareholders in the new company, which will be named Leonardo Rheinmetall Military Vehicles (LRMV) and located in the northwestern Italian city of La Spezia, according to the statement.
"The primary goal of the joint venture is the industrial development and subsequent marketing of the new Italian main battle tank (MBT) and the new Lynx platform for the Armored Infantry Combat System (AICS) programme as part of the Italian Army's programme for land systems," Leonardo said.
Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger described the joint venture as "a new heavyweight in European tank production," adding that the new company would be mainly focused on the Italian market.
Rhienmetall's Panther KF51 tank will be the basis for the new main battle tank to replace the Ariete tank in the Italian armed forces, Leonardo said.