Leonardo-Iveco, this is how Italy is pushing to enter the Franco-German MGCS programme
According to the French newspaper La Tribune, our country claims a third of the Franco-German Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) program but Berlin is resisting. Not only. The Italian government is reportedly encouraging Leonardo and Iveco to merge their land armaments activities.
The Italian government is calling for a merger between Iveco Defense Vehicles and Oto Melara (Leonardo's land armaments subsidiary) to enter the Franco-German Mgcs (Main Ground Combat System) programme, the combat tank of the future.
This is what the French newspaper La Tribune revealed today, according to which the Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto "is pushing hard to join the MGCS and "regularly speaks about it to the French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu".
Known as the Main Ground Combat System, the MGCS is a project of KNDS, a Franco-German consortium formed by the defense groups Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (Kmw, Germany) and Nexter Defense Systems (France) in cooperation with Rheinmetall.
Franco-German cooperation in the field of defense has struggled to materialize on the two major projects FCAS and MGCS, both launched in 2017. The first is the French-led FCAS (Future Air Combat System) program. The Fcas project also suffered a long stalemate due to disagreements between Dassault Aviation and Airbus on the division of the work. Frictions were only overcome last December after intense political pressure.
But Rome must convince Berlin to make room for it "as soon as possible" in this complex program to be launched between France and Germany, and therefore to break the German barrier which for the moment is well closed, sources tell La Tribune .
All the details,
ITALY WANTS TO GET ON BOARD THE MGCS PROGRAM
It is no mystery that our country aimed to enter the Franco-German project for the European tank of the future.
From the beginning, both Italy and Poland repeatedly asked to join the MGCS program, but Paris and Berlin wanted to keep the project exclusively bilateral until the development of a prototype. But the Franco-German cooperation broke down and the project remained stuck in the architectural study phase, regularly extended for several months. Meanwhile, Sweden and Italy have joined the MGCS program as observers, first Stockholm in 2021, then Rome last year .
Already this summer the French newspaper claimed that the next phases could see the entry of Leonardo with its subsidiary Oto Melara into the Mgcs project. In fact, La Tribune also recalled how last June at the Bourget air show, the Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto revealed in a tweet that he had had a "long conversation" with his French counterpart Sébastien Lecornu on various topics, including one on “cooperation in the defense industry sector”.
And Rome is not satisfied with just any place in the Franco-German project. “According to reliable sources, the Italians expect a third of the MGCS, without having observer status, to participate in this program as soon as it is developed” claims La Tribune adding that it would be “A scenario almost identical to the one that Spain has managed to implement”. obtain in the Fcas (Future Air Combat System) program”.
THE ITALIAN DEFENSE STRATEGY IN THE LAND SECTOR
To corroborate this hypothesis, the French newspaper writes that our country has even questioned "the purchase of the Leopard AX tanks, which should in principle renew the fleet currently made up of Ariete and Leopard 1, and complete the combat capability of the Italian armored forces".
On 16 October, the Italian Defense published and transmitted to Parliament the multi-year planning document (DPP) for Defense for the three-year period 2023-2025. The latter formalizes the expenditure forecast of 8.2 billion for the purchase of the German Leopard 2 tanks (produced by the German Kmw and Rheimmetall) and "the start of collaboration programs at European level for the development of land-based future generation, such as the Armored Infantry Combat System and the Main Ground Combat System", as recently illustrated by Minister Crosetto in a hearing before the Defense commissions of the Chambers.
“With a view to international cooperation, the acquisition of new generation Leopard tanks will create advantageous conditions for the expansion of the partnership in the development program of the future European MBT” the Undersecretary of Defense Isabella Rauti also explained in a parliamentary hearing, specifying that “a Deeper cooperation with the German counterpart will facilitate the inclusion in the Franco-German Main Ground Combat System – MGCS project, which is not expected to come online before 2040”.
MERGER IN SIGHT BETWEEN IVECO AND OTO MELARA (LEONARDO)?
But before boarding the MGCS program, Italy wants to be ready.
According to the same La Tribune sources, “the Italian government would like to merge the two manufacturers, Iveco Defense Vehicles (IDV), the subsidiary dedicated to military vehicles (armoured vehicles, amphibious vehicles, etc.) of the Iveco group (100%), and the land armament activities of Leonardo (formerly Oto Melara)”.
«Italy wishes to establish a company resulting from the activities of Leonardo and Iveco Defense Vehicle on the Knds model», they explain to La Tribune . This operation should be facilitated by close collaboration between the two groups. Oto Melara is in fact part, together with Iveco, of the Cio consortium, leader of the national industry in land armaments. In 1985 Oto Melara became part of a joint consortium with Iveco, forming the current Iveco-Oto Melara Cio for the development and production of armored vehicles such as the Centauro (I and II) and vehicle support. “Within this consortium, Iveco Defense Vehicles takes care of the engines, the mobility part, all the automotive components, the final integration of the wheeled armored vehicles while Leonardo is responsible for the weapon systems, targeting and control of fire, as well as the final integration of tracked armored vehicles” recalls the French newspaper.
AND LEONARDO?
In all this, what is the position of the Italian defense giant?
“Italy has important expertise in Oto Melara but also in the Iveco component with which we are partners in the consortium,” said Leonardo's general director, Lorenzo Mariani, at a hearing at the Chamber's Defense Committee last week.
In 2021, the group headed at the time by Alessandro Profumo had put the land armaments subsidiary up for sale together with Wass, a sale that remained on stand-by. Meanwhile, the Defense has confirmed its intention to buy the Leopard 2 tanks, produced by the German Kmw and Rheimmetall (both had made an offer for the Leonardo subsidiary). Now the former Finmeccanica led by Roberto Cingolani is aiming to involve Oto Melara in the program.
“It will probably be appropriate to have a collaboration at a European level because I don't think there is space for multiple platforms: we are looking for a decent collaboration both in terms of participation and technology and the financial support that comes from the DPP is an excellent encouragement,” Mariani specified .
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/leonardo-iveco-ecco-come-litalia-spinge-per-entrare-nel-programma-franco-tedesco-mgcs/ on Tue, 05 Dec 2023 15:02:27 +0000.