Italy weighs using EU defense loan on new tanks, eying Hungary team-up

ROME — Italy is considering using a European Union loan deal to pay for new tanks and armored vehicles supplied by Germany’s Rheinmetall, a source has told Defense News.

The money for Lynx vehicles and Panther tanks would come from cheap so-called SAFE loans organized by the EU to help member states beef up their military strength as Russia threatens the bloc’s Eastern border.

Earlier this year EU officials said they would organize the low-cost loans worth €150 billion euros for members, then announced in September that Poland had been allocated €43.7bn in loans followed by Romania with €16.7bn, France and Hungary on €16.2bn and Italy with €14.9bn, among other recipients.

States have until Nov. 30 to supply the EU with details on how they will spend the cash, before funds are released in 2026.

Beneficiaries cannot carry out go-it-alone procurements with the loan cash. To encourage money saving and European military synergy, the EU has told member states to team up with at least one other EU recipient to make joint arms buys.

The subject came up in Rome on Monday when Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban paid a visit to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

“The two leaders discussed the opportunities offered by the European SAFE scheme, evaluating possible synergies between Italy and Hungary to support their respective industrial and technological capabilities,” Meloni’s office said after the meeting.

The two countries already have one procurement program, and one potential program in common. The first is the Lynx tracked armored vehicle developed by Rheinmetall, which Italy and Hungary are buying, assembling and adapting.

The second is Rheinmetall’s new Panther main battle tank. Italy is set to purchase 272, while Hungary signed a deal with Rheinmetall in 2023 to team on development and production of the tank.

An Italian defense source who spoke on condition of anonymity told Defense News that Italy’s purchases of the two platforms were candidates to be supported by SAFE loan cash.

Italy plans to buy 1,050 variants of the Lynx vehicle, adding a turret built by home supplier Leonardo, while Hungary signed in 2020 to purchase around 218, with all but the first 46 to be built in Hungary.

Those 46 have now been delivered.

Hungary’s decision to put in for €16.2bn in SAFE loans makes it one of the largest potential beneficiaries, but that combines with Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s repeated criticism of the EU.

On Monday, the same day he discussed the SAFE set-up with Italian prime minister Meloni, he also told reporters “The European Union counts for nothing.”

Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.

罗马——据《防务新闻》报道，一位消息人士透露，意大利正在考虑利用欧盟的贷款协议来支付德国莱茵金属公司提供的新型坦克和装甲车的费用。

购买“山猫”装甲车和“黑豹”坦克的资金将来自欧盟组织的所谓“安全贷款计划”（SAFE Loans），该计划旨在帮助成员国加强军事实力，因为俄罗斯正在威胁欧盟的东部边界。

今年早些时候，欧盟官员表示将为成员国组织价值 1500 亿欧元的低成本贷款，然后在 9 月份宣布，波兰已获得 437 亿欧元的贷款，罗马尼亚获得 167 亿欧元，法国和匈牙利各获得 162 亿欧元，意大利获得 149 亿欧元，其他受助国也获得了贷款。

各国必须在 11 月 30 日之前向欧盟提供资金使用详情，资金将于 2026 年发放。

受益国不能单独使用贷款资金进行采购。为了鼓励节约资金和加强欧洲军事协同，欧盟已要求成员国至少与另一个欧盟受援国合作进行联合武器采购。

周一，匈牙利总理维克托·欧尔班在罗马拜访意大利总理乔治娅·梅洛尼时，双方谈到了这个问题。

会后，梅洛尼办公室表示：“两国领导人讨论了欧洲SAFE计划带来的机遇，评估了意大利和匈牙利之间可能存在的协同效应，以支持各自的工业和技术能力。”

两国目前已有一项采购计划，并且还有一项潜在的共同采购计划。第一种是莱茵金属公司研发的“山猫”（Lynx）履带式装甲车，意大利和匈牙利正在采购、组装和改装这种装甲车。

第二款是莱茵金属公司新推出的“黑豹”主战坦克。意大利计划采购272辆，而匈牙利已于2023年与莱茵金属公司签署协议，合作研发和生产该型坦克。

一位不愿透露姓名的意大利国防消息人士告诉《防务新闻》，意大利购买这两款平台的计划可能会获得SAFE贷款资金的支持。

意大利计划购买 1050 辆 Lynx 装甲车，并为其加装由本国供应商 Leonardo 制造的炮塔；而匈牙利在 2020 年签署了购买约 218 辆的合同，除首批 46 辆外，其余都将在匈牙利制造。

这46件货物现已交付。

匈牙利决定申请 162 亿欧元的 SAFE 贷款，使其成为最大的潜在受益国之一，但这与总理维克托·欧尔班一再批评欧盟的立场相矛盾。

周一，就在他与意大利总理梅洛尼讨论 SAFE 协议的同一天，他还告诉记者：“欧盟毫无意义。”

汤姆·金顿是《防务新闻》驻意大利记者。