Rheinmetall estimates Italian tank programme at about 8 billion euros under Leonardo partnership
Key Facts
Rheinmetall estimated the total size of the Italian tank programme at about 8 billion euros in its May 2026 investor presentation, as part of its industrial cooperation with Leonardo to equip the Italian army with new vehicles. The programme envisages about 132 Panther tanks, alongside about 140 support vehicles, according to figures provided by the company in the presentation. This value forms part of the estimates for the programme's overall size. The Panther platform developed by Rheinmetall forms the basis for Italy's new main battle tank, according to the company's statement on the establishment of the joint venture. The company said the platform would be "the basis for the new main battle tank that will replace the Ariete". Alongside the tank programme, Rheinmetall presented an armoured fighting vehicle programme with an estimated total value of about 15 billion euros. That programme envisages about 1,050 Lynx vehicles.
Leonardo and Rheinmetall hold equal stakes in the joint venture, according to its founding statement, while the industrial arrangements stipulate that 60% of activities will be carried out in Italy. The venture is headquartered in Rome, with its operational headquarters in La Spezia. Leonardo said in the founding statement that "60% of activities will be carried out in Italy", specifying the local share of the work. Under the division of responsibilities, the Italian company will develop and produce mission systems and electronics packages, according to Rheinmetall's project page. Its responsibilities also include producing and integrating defence systems, as well as responsibility for the propulsion system. On the regulatory front, Rheinmetall announced that Germany's antitrust office approved the establishment of the joint venture on 20 January 2025.
On infantry vehicle procurement, Leonardo announced the first contract to supply armoured vehicles on 5 November 2025. The initial contract configuration includes 5 Lynx vehicles equipped with Rheinmetall's Lance turret, according to the Italian company's statement. These will be followed by 16 vehicles in the new configuration, using the same chassis, under the delivery arrangements set out in the statement. The contract includes an option to purchase 30 additional vehicles, alongside those in the initial configuration. It also includes training and simulation systems to prepare the crews that will operate the vehicles. Leonardo described the purpose of these systems as "improving crew training", as part of the first armoured vehicle contract package.
Deliveries began with the joint venture's announcement that it had handed over the first 4 Lynx vehicles to the Italian armed forces on 27 January 2026, according to a Rheinmetall statement. The statement described the batch as "the first 4 Lynx infantry fighting vehicles", marking an implementation step in the vehicle programme. The Lynx platform can perform multiple roles, according to the same statement, including infantry combat and troop transport. It can also serve as a mobile command centre, among the configurations presented by the company for the platform. Its range of uses also includes an ambulance role, alongside combat configurations and personnel transport and command duties.
Italy's tank procurement programme runs from 2025 to 2038, according to a parliamentary document seen by Reuters and cited in its coverage published on 29 October 2024. That timetable places tank purchases within a multiyear plan for the Italian army. Across Rheinmetall's broader business, its financial report for the first half of 2026 showed its backlog indicator rising to 80,467 million euros as of 30 June 2026. The indicator stood at 55,972 million euros in the corresponding period a year earlier, according to the comparison in the report. The company said the annual increase was 43.8% in its disclosure on the indicator's development at the end of the first half.
The companies' next financial dates begin with a Leonardo board meeting on 4 November 2026, according to its financial calendar. The meeting will be devoted to approving results for the first nine months of 2026. Rheinmetall will then publish its results on 5 November 2026, according to the date listed in its investor calendar. The German company's disclosure covers results for the third quarter of 2026. Leonardo's results approval and Rheinmetall's results publication will thus take place in succession during November, according to the two companies' announced financial calendars.