Iveco-Oto Melara, because it serves the terrestrial industrial pole according to the Army
From the renewal of army vehicles to the need for a land law (on the model of the naval law passed for the Navy) up to the creation of a land industrial pole with Iveco-Oto Melara. What emerged from the hearing of the Chief of Staff of the Army, General Pietro Serino, at the Defense Commission of the Chamber
Planning, financial resources, technological engineering and production capacity of a valid defense industry in support of the Army.
This is what the Chief of Staff of the Italian Army, General Pietro Serino, hoped for in a hearing before the Defense Commission of the Chamber on 21 February.
"Even before my mandate, a much needed modernization process was undertaken, the priority of which mainly concerns the renewal of the armored component, the adaptation of the protection of the Forces to the diversified threats present on today's battlefields, mainly coming from the third dimension , and on the ability to engage long-distance targets, as well as the helicopter component" explained General Serino.
"Over time, due to contingency operational choices, the Armed Forces has accumulated a serious capacity delay which, to be filled, will require resources in the coming years equal to double those that would normally occur in a balanced model in which the land component absorbs approximately 25 per cent, or so, of the overall needs of the instrument” General Serino underlined again.
All the details of the hearing of the Chief of Staff of the Italian Army in the Chamber.
WAGON MODERNIZATION IS NECESSARY
"As regards the heavy forces in their various components, these represent a fundamental element for the conduct of conventional operations" explained General Serino. “The latest planning in this field […] dates back to the 1980s, and led to the purchase of Dardo infantry vehicles of the basic version only, against the five variants envisaged, and 200 Ariete combat tanks. Both vehicles, precisely because of the changed situations, have never been the subject of modernization programs or logistic obsolescence solution programs over time” the Army number one pointed out.
THE ARMY HAS INITIATED RAM UPDATE
In 2019, the Army launched "a program to update a first quota of Ram tanks, in the sectors of mobility and engagement, command and control. The programme, which received the positive opinion of the Chambers in the last legislature, is ready to be implemented” General Serino communicated.
MUST START PROGRAM FOR POST-DARD
As for the large infantry family," today represented by the Dardo armored vehicle, having ascertained the non-feasibility of a modernization program of the same because it is not cost-effective, and moreover available in numbers largely insufficient for the need which stands at about a thousand vehicles in the various specialized versions, the balance hangs for the launch of a development and acquisition program from scratch capable of accompanying the Army for forty years from now” explained the head of SME in the hearing.
NECESSARY LAND LAW (AS IT WAS FOR THE NAVAL)
"It is a program which, in terms of size and characteristics, must see national industry as the protagonist and also favor its relaunch in Europe" underlined General Serino adding that "without prejudice to the form of financing, which today is based on multi-year funds of Defense, it is a real land shipbuilding law on the model of the well-known naval law". That is the naval law of 2015 passed for the Navy.
"This initiative would also allow the start of interesting industrial cooperation, also with a view to the future vehicle" specified the head of SME.
LEOPARD 2, CV 90 OR LYNX?
In particular, on the occasion of the hearing, General Serino made it known that the Army had identified the two vehicles "from a technical-military point of view" and "the choice is being examined by the top of the Dicastery". But the Chief of Staff of the Army did not specify which vehicles are involved.
According to press rumors, the armed force intends to purchase the German Leopard 2 tanks and the Swedish CV90 to replace the old Dardo. Specifically, Defense News reported that the Army would be evaluating the procurement of 125 tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. But it should not be forgotten that in January 2021 the German Rheinmetall proposed the new Lynx tracked combat vehicle. Not only. Rheinmetall has combined its offer with the possibility of involving the entire industrial sector with the creation of an Italian pole of excellence through the consolidation of the national terrestrial sector.
CREATION OF LAND INDUSTRIAL POLE AROUND THE IVECO-OTO MELARA CONSORTIUM
And General Serino also spoke about the need to create a terrestrial industrial pole around the Iveco-Oto Melara (CIO) consortium, leader of the national industry in terrestrial armaments, controlled by CNH Industrial and Leonardo.
It is "necessary to promote, within the context of the defense system, the creation of a terrestrial industrial pole which, thanks to the synergistic collaboration between large companies in the sector and the branched chain of small and medium-sized enterprises with a high technological content, can guarantee the satisfaction of the needs of Army innovation. The no longer postponeable renewal of the Armed Forces, in particular the planning linked to the armored component, constitutes a perhaps unrepeatable opportunity to give body and substance to the aforementioned pole, which could currently focus on the Iveco-Oto Melara consortium through an industrial strengthening of the same " noted the Army Chief of Staff.
The issue is closely linked to the sale of Oto Melara and Wass, the two land and naval armaments subsidiaries put up for sale by Leonardo in 2021, which has remained on standby. Before last summer, Rheinmetall had also come forward with a proposal to Leonardo to take over a minority stake in Oto. In the meantime, the executive has changed and now the board of directors of the company Leonardo, in which the MEF has an interest, is about to expire, so we will still have to wait to find out the future of the business unit of the company's Defense Systems division.
THE ARMY ALSO CALLS FOR INVESTMENT STABILITY
Finally, with regard to the processes of modernization and renewal, General Serino emphasized the need for “adequate capital resources and even more certainty, depth and stability of the appropriations. This request is even more pressing for the current historical moment, which has led to a real acceleration in the renewal of armies throughout Europe "
“I therefore strongly support all the initiatives (I know that the Minister of Defense has also spoken about it) to reach a maxi fund that adds up at least three of the current years, also associated with administrative and accounting simplification rules. Not only the Armed Forces would benefit, but the entire country system; and in some ways also the European Union, in search of strategic autonomy in the field of security and defense and better efficiency of its production system” concluded the Army Chief of Staff.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/iveco-oto-melara-perche-serve-il-polo-industriale-terrestre-secondo-lesercito/ on Mon, 27 Mar 2023 03:44:13 +0000.