Italy gets Lynx fighting vehicle for testing ahead of first contract

ROME — Germany’s Rheinmetall has loaned a Lynx tracked vehicle to the Italian army to test, as Italy prepares to sign a half-billion euro contract ($513 million) for a first batch of the vehicles by mid-2025.

The Lynx fighting vehicle was shipped on Dec. 30 to the Italian army’s Montelibretti testing facility near Rome, where it will be put through its paces by experts from the army and from Italian defense giant Leonardo.

“Army engineers and testers will get to know the Lynx and carry out a series of evaluations to test the mobility, protection, fire power and interoperability of the vehicle,” the Italian army said in a statement.

“The loan shows the speed with which the deal is being managed and is also a sign of goodwill to the Italian army,” a source knowledgeable of the arrangement told Defense News.

As it replaces old vehicles and keeps up with NATO requirements, Italy plans to acquire 1,050 new fighting vehicles based on Rheinmetall’s Lynx in a €15 billion program, with the first to be delivered in two years.

The Italian army will also buy 280 tanks based on Rheinmetall’s under-development Panther KF51 in an €8 billion euro program with the first tank planned for delivery in two and a half to three years.

In October, Rheinmetall and Italy’s Leonardo announced a new joint venture through which they will team on development and construction of both vehicles, with the Italian firm contributing armaments and electronics to create Italianized versions of the vehicles.

The Lynx KF41 loaned to the Italian army hails from Hungary, which is the only previous buyer of the vehicle.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity while discussing ongoing deliberations, told Defense News the joint venture would likely be up and running by the end of January, with the first contract for a first batch of Italy-configuration fighting vehicles the next step.

Worth about half a billion euros, the contract could be signed with Italy’s defense ministry by the summer, the source said.

“If things move fast, the first contract for tanks could be signed this year,” the source added.

Leonardo and Rheinmetall have said they see export potential for the Italian-version vehicles, beyond purchases from Rome.

In an interview with German publication Börsen Zeitung in December, Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger predicted the joint venture would see orders worth €50 billion over the next ten years.

Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.

罗马——德国莱茵金属公司已向意大利军队借出一辆“山猫”履带式车辆进行测试，意大利正准备签署一份价值5亿欧元（5.13亿美元）的合同，在2025年中期之前采购首批该型车辆。

12月30日，Lynx战车被运往位于罗马附近的意大利陆军蒙特利布雷蒂测试基地，在那里，来自陆军和意大利国防巨头莱昂纳多公司的专家将对其进行全面测试。

意大利陆军在一份声明中表示：“陆军工程师和测试人员将了解‘山猫’装甲车，并进行一系列评估，以测试该车辆的机动性、防护性、火力和互操作性。”

一位了解此事的知情人士告诉《防务新闻》：“这笔贷款表明了交易的进展速度，也体现了对意大利军队的善意。”

为了替换老旧车辆并满足北约的要求，意大利计划斥资 150 亿欧元采购 1050 辆基于莱茵金属公司“山猫”装甲车的新型战车，首批战车将于两年内交付。

意大利陆军还将斥资 80 亿欧元购买 280 辆基于莱茵金属公司正在研发的“黑豹”KF51 坦克的坦克，首辆坦克计划在两到三年内交付。

10 月，莱茵金属公司和意大利莱昂纳多公司宣布成立一家新的合资企业，双方将合作开发和建造这两款车辆，其中这家意大利公司将提供武器和电子设备，以打造意大利化的车辆版本。

借给意大利军队的 Lynx KF41 装甲车来自匈牙利，匈牙利也是该型车辆的唯一前买家。

一位不愿透露姓名的消息人士在讨论正在进行的磋商时告诉《防务新闻》，合资企业很可能在1月底投入运营，下一步将是签订首批意大利配置战车的首份合同。

消息人士称，这份价值约5亿欧元的合同可能在今年夏天与意大利国防部签署。

消息人士补充说：“如果进展顺利，今年就可能签署第一份坦克合同。”

莱昂纳多和莱茵金属公司表示，他们看到了意大利版汽车的出口潜力，除了从罗马购买之外。

莱茵金属公司首席执行官阿明·帕佩格尔在去年 12 月接受德国《Börsen Zeitung》杂志采访时预测，该合资企业未来十年将获得价值 500 亿欧元的订单。

汤姆·金顿是《防务新闻》驻意大利记者。