Cash in hand for armored vehicles, Italy weighs its clout in Europe

ROME — Italy is expected to come up with a design for a new €5 billion ($5.4 billion) armored fighting vehicle program by the end of the year after it picks European partners for the job.

To meet the target, work is now picking up pace on Italy’s A2CS program to build 1,050 tracked vehicles to replace its aging Dardo vehicles, making it Europe’s biggest current land warfare program.

“This year is going to require a lot of work to make that deadline,” said a source knowledgeable of the program who declined to be named because he was not allowed to speak on the record.

Earlier this year the Italian army handed local defense giant Leonardo and Italy’s Iveco Defence Vehicles the task of recruiting European partners who can bring expertise and platforms to the table, in the knowledge that Italy cannot afford the time or expense involved in starting a program from scratch.

The industry grouping is expected to have a design ready for the Army by Christmas.

Given the size of the program, A2CS, formerly named AICS, could be both a catalyst for long awaited integration in Europe’s ground warfare industry and shape further consolidation in the sector.

So attention will be paid to the European team-up picked by Leonardo and Iveco Defence Vehicles, which already operate their own joint venture known as CIO.

Current candidates include French-German alliance KNDS, which would propose its tracked Boxer vehicle as a baseline for the design, while Germany’s Rheinmetall has offered its Lynx. BAE Systems Hägglunds would have an outside shot with its CV90.

Planners intend to order the vehicle in 16 configurations, including combat, anti-tank, reconnaissance, 120mm light tank, anti-air, mortar carrier, ammunition carrier, command post and ambulance. The aim is to produce twenty prototypes by 2027 or 2028, with deliveries to follow between 2029 and 2041.

The A2CS program is one of two ongoing vehicle procurement programs in Italy, the second being the purchase of Leopard tanks from KNDS, which will be assembled in Italy.

Italy’s Leonardo meanwhile signed a cooperation deal with KNDS in December which covered eventual cooperation on the French-German Main Ground Combat System battle tank program being worked on by KNDS.

Italy has also signed recent bilateral defense cooperation deals with Germany and France which laid the groundwork for Italian involvement in the MGCS program.

But earlier this month the French branch of KNDS told Defense News that a planned project company between KNDS, Germany’s Rheinmetall and France’s Thales to work on the tank will remain closed to other shareholders for now .

The French and German divisions of KNDS, Rheinmetall and Thales will each hold a 25% stake in the project company, with work on different parts of the tank now divided up between France and Germany.

Alessandro Marrone, who heads the defense program at Rome think tank IAI, said the announcement suggested Italy risked being left behind.

“Italy plans to acquire the platform and be involved in the design – that was the sense of the deal between Italy and France. If it is just about sub-contracting it is not much different to Italy’s role on Leopard, which will be customized and assembled in Italy but will still be a Leopard. Italy’s ambition on MGCS is different,” he said.

“Italy did not do enough to link its Leopard purchase to involvement in MGCS, and the more structured the MGCS program becomes the more difficult it will be to change it,” he added.

One way for Italy to get a better foothold in MGCS would be if it becomes a participant in the KNDS venture.

Late last year, Leonardo bid to buy IDV from Iveco, its parent company.

Adding the firm to its own ground vehicles activity, Leonardo would have created an entity with a potentially sufficient mass to become a partner in KNDS, turning KNDS into a land version of European missile house MBDA in which nations have grouped their domestic firms.

MBDA has been offered as a model for European defense industry integration by Leonardo CEO Roberto Cingolani. Leonardo’s bid to buy IDV has however been turned down by Iveco, an industry source told Defense News.

Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.

罗马——意大利预计将在年底前拿出价值 50 亿欧元（54 亿美元）的新装甲战车项目的设计方案，此前它将为该项目挑选欧洲合作伙伴。

为了实现目标，意大利的 A2CS 计划正在加快步伐，该计划旨在建造 1050 辆履带式车辆，以取代其老旧的 Dardo 车辆，使其成为欧洲目前最大的陆地作战计划。

一位了解该项目的消息人士表示：“今年要按时完成这个目标，需要付出很多努力。”他拒绝透露姓名，因为他没有被允许公开谈论此事。

今年早些时候，意大利军方委托当地国防巨头莱昂纳多和意大利依维柯防务车辆公司招募欧洲合作伙伴，以寻求能够提供专业知识和平台的合作伙伴，因为意大利承担不起从零开始启动一个项目所需的时间和费用。

该行业组织预计将在圣诞节前为陆军准备好设计方案。

鉴于该计划的规模，A2CS（前身为 AICS）既可以成为欧洲地面作战行业期待已久的一体化的催化剂，也可以塑造该行业的进一步整合。

因此，人们将关注由莱昂纳多和依维柯防务车辆公司组成的欧洲团队，这两家公司已经运营着自己的合资企业，名为 CIO。

目前的候选方案包括法德联合公司KNDS，该公司计划以其履带式“拳击手”（Boxer）装甲车作为设计基础；德国莱茵金属公司则推出了“山猫”（Lynx）装甲车；英国航空航天系统公司（BAE Systems）旗下的哈格隆装甲车（Hägglunds）也有机会参与竞标，其CV90装甲车或许能获得一定机会。

规划者计划订购16种不同配置的车辆，包括战斗型、反坦克型、侦察型、120毫米轻型坦克型、防空型、迫击炮运载型、弹药运载型、指挥型和救护型。目标是在2027年或2028年之前生产20辆原型车，随后在2029年至2041年间交付。

A2CS 项目是意大利正在进行的两个车辆采购项目之一，第二个项目是从 KNDS 购买豹式坦克，这些坦克将在意大利组装。

与此同时，意大利的莱昂纳多公司于 12 月与 KNDS 公司签署了一项合作协议，该协议涵盖了双方最终在 KNDS 公司正在研发的法德主战坦克项目上的合作。

意大利最近还与德国和法国签署了双边防务合作协议，为意大利参与MGCS计划奠定了基础。

但本月初，KNDS 的法国分公司告诉《防务新闻》，KNDS、德国莱茵金属公司和法国泰雷兹公司计划成立一家合作研发坦克的项目公司，目前仍不对其他股东开放。

KNDS、莱茵金属和泰雷兹的法国和德国分部将分别持有该项目公司 25% 的股份，坦克不同部件的研发工作现在由法国和德国分工完成。

罗马智库 IAI 国防项目负责人亚历山德罗·马罗内表示，这一声明表明意大利有被甩在后面的风险。

“意大利计划收购该平台并参与设计——这正是意大利和法国协议的宗旨。如果仅仅是分包，那与意大利在豹式坦克项目上的角色并无太大区别，豹式坦克将在意大利进行定制和组装，但仍然是一款豹式坦克。意大利在MGCS项目上的目标则有所不同，”他说道。

“意大利在将购买豹式坦克与参与MGCS项目联系起来方面做得不够，而且MGCS项目的结构越完善，就越难对其进行改变，”他补充道。

意大利要想在MGCS中获得更好的立足点，一个办法就是参与KNDS合资企业。

去年年底，莱昂纳多曾出价从其母公司依维柯手中收购IDV。

如果将该公司纳入其自身的地面车辆业务，莱昂纳多将创建一个规模足以成为 KNDS 合作伙伴的实体，从而使 KNDS 成为欧洲导弹公司 MBDA 的陆地版本，各国已将其国内公司整合到 MBDA 中。

据《防务新闻》报道，莱昂纳多集团首席执行官罗伯托·辛戈拉尼曾将MBDA视为欧洲国防工业一体化的典范。但一位业内人士透露，莱昂纳多收购IDV的提议已被依维柯拒绝。

汤姆·金顿是《防务新闻》驻意大利记者。