Italy receives first Lynx infantry fighting vehicles from Rheinmetall

The Italian Army has taken delivery of the first four Lynx infantry fighting vehicles from Rheinmetall, marking the initial batch of a planned order totaling 1,050 vehicles.

The tracked vehicles were unveiled at the army’s Montelibretti test range outside Rome during a ceremony attended by Italy’s chief of defence, the defende minister, and senior executives from Rheinmetall and Italy’s Leonardo, which is partnering with the German firm on the programme.

“This is a strategic signal,” Björn Bernhard, Rheinmetall’s European vehicles head told Defense News.

“Europe remains fragmented with too many systems, too many supply chains, too little industrial depth. It is unsustainable, it is simply dangerous,” he said in a speech.

The Lynx programme “is delivering what Europe urgently needs. Industrial integration instead of national stand alone approaches,” he added, claiming, “Europe is becoming more resilient.”

The vehicle delivery follows the signing last week of a defence cooperation agreement between Italy and Germany aimed at reducing fragmentation, fostering standardisation and interchangeability, increasing interoperability between their armed forces, and strengthening the European defence industry.

The first four vehicles, soon to be joined by a fifth, are equipped with Rheinmetall-supplied turrets. A subsequent batch of 16 Lynx vehicles, scheduled for delivery between October and early 2027, will feature Leonardo-built Hitfist 30mm turrets.

The integration of the Italian turrets with Rheinmetall Lynx chassis’ will “most probably” take place at Leonardo’s facility in La Spezia or at Iveco Defence Vehicles, the Italian firm acquired by Leonardo last year, according to Leonardo CEO Roberto Cingolani. The first five vehicles will also be retrofitted with the Hitfist turret.

Leonardo’s deputy managing director of defence systems, Luca Perazzo, said the Italian Army holds an option to acquire an additional 30 vehicles in the same configuration, which is expected to be exercised in the first half of this year.

The Lynx programme follows the creation in 2024 of the joint venture Leonardo Rheinmetall Military Vehicles. Perazzo said a full, final contract would cover five additional Lynx variants designed to perform 16 different roles. Prototypes of these variants are expected to be delivered between 2027 and 2028, ahead of serial production.

“For the first time all the capabilities of an armoured brigade will be brought together on one technological backbone,” Bernhard said.

The Italian Army is also considering the production of 272 variants of Rheinmetall’s Panther main battle tank by Rheinmetall and Leonardo, bringing the total value of the programme to 23 billion euros. Cingolani said the first Panther prototypes are expected to be delivered between the end of 2029 and the start of 2030.

Both the Lynx and Panther programs have qualified for inclusion in the European Union’s SAFE plan, allowing EU member states to use SAFE defence spending loans to procure the vehicles, Perazzo told Defense News.

By Sabina Mammadli