Leonardo, Rheinmetall and more, all Italy-Germany relations in defense
The in-depth analysis by Gianandrea Gaiani, director of SviluppoDifesa , starting from the visit to Berlin of the Minister of Defense Lorenzo Guerini
The visit to Berlin of the Minister of Defense, Lorenzo Guerini, and more recently to Rome of the CEO of Rheinmetall AG, Armin Papperger, brought to the fore the proposal to acquire and produce in Italy the tracked combat vehicle (VCC) KF- 41 Lynx, produced by the German giant Rheinmetall AG (6 billion euros in turnover, 26 thousand employees) acquired by the Hungarian Army and also proposed to Australia (Land 400 Program), Qatar, US Army (with Raytheon) and the Czech Republic.
This would be an order worth about two billion euros to build 400/600 vehicles (661 according to what the Army reported) in ten years starting from 2025 to replace the VCC Dardo.
The CEO of Rheinmetall Italia, Alessandro Ercolani, illustrated the proposal on 13 January last during a hearing at the Defense Commission of the Chamber in which he took stock of the Rome plant (formerly Contraves, existing since 1952), with a workforce of over 400 workers, known for producing the Skyguard short-range air defense system and "radar center of excellence" for the entire Rheinmetall Group.
Among the various activities enunciated by Ercolani also the involvement in the modernization program of the F123 frigates of the German Navy, of the TKMS shipyards.
"Rheinmetall Italia represents the potential gateway and connection bridge in our country, of the Group's excellent technologies ranging from tracked armored vehicles (Leopard, Lynx and future Franco – German MGCS tanks) to electronics for the defense with, in our vision, very important opportunities for industrial collaboration with the other primary national players to be developed in a fully European dimension ” said Ercolani in the hearing.
Speaking of the company's role on the Italian market, the CEO highlighted the aspects of participation in national programs (here the video of the audition ), focusing on the proposal to acquire and produce the Lynx crawler in Italy.
“To date, on the basis of a preliminary analysis and the raw data available, it is possible to state that the Italian production quota can exceed 70% of the value of the order, to be identified mainly in the transfer of technology for the benefit of the national industry.
In addition, it should be noted that the acquisition of tracked technology through the new AIFV program will allow our country, immediately afterwards, to apply to access, thanks to the technologies acquired, a leading position in the program for the new MBT Franco-German MGCS which, for the caliber of the countries currently involved, the expected volumes – more than 2,500 vehicles – and the importance of the participating companies will represent one of the main armament programs at European level for the next 30 years ”.
Rheinmetall's proposal is therefore to acquire the Lynx by participating in its production and equipping it in part with “made in Italy” instrumentation and equipment with the opportunity to project Italy into the program for the future European tank. That MGCS Program from which until now the Franco-German axis has kept us out but in which Berlin would positively see an Italian role, useful for balancing French hegemonic pressures.
THE FRENCH-GERMAN AXIS CRACKED
It is no mystery that the "iron agreement" between Paris and Berlin in the defense field is shaking both on the terrestrial programs and on that of the new 6th generation fighter (FCAS or SCAF) where only a few days ago Airbus and Dassault seem to have reached an agreement on shares, roles, skills, sharing of know-how and sovereignty of the most advanced technologies.
Aware of the difficulties that have been dragging on for some time in relations with Germany and of the risk that a French prevalence in the FCAS program corresponds to a similar greater German "weight" in the program for the new tank, France has opened a wide political and industrial debate. and media on these issues.
A no -holds-barred debate in which the Germans are "accused" of wanting to bridge the gap in some defense sectors thanks to European programs and French hi-tech .
The economic newspaper Les Échos , in an article of 15 March on the difficulties of the MGCS program, also noted the different visions about the new tank with "the French, thanks to their experience in multiple war theaters, who imagine a future mobile tank, flexible, also suitable for urban combat, while the Germans continue to think about the war of position in the face of an invasion from the East “.
A topic already addressed in a parliamentary hearing in 2018 by General Jean-Pierre Bosser, at the time chief of staff of the French army, which envisaged industrial complications caused by German claims on issues relating to main armament, motorization and protection of the new wagon.
On March 15, the newspaper La Tribune highlighted different views between Paris and Berlin regarding the upgrading of Tigre attack helicopters, underlining how "most of the large arms projects in cooperation with Germany are in grave danger" and asking the question: "Is Berlin really a reliable partner?"
A debate in which there is no hidden fear that Italy, hitherto marginalized by the great Franco-German land and aeronautical programs, could carve out a relevant space in European top military projects.
On March 16, the French specialized website Opex 360 stressed, citing the visit to Berlin of Defense Minister Lorenzo Guerini and an article published by Formiche.net , how the difficulties in Franco-German military cooperation are viewed positively by Italy.
THE ITALIAN PERSPECTIVES
Rheinmetall's proposal will necessarily have to be deepened by the Army in terms of requirements and in the industrial field, involving Leonardo and Iveco Veicoli Difesa, but it will also have to be evaluated in political and strategic terms, implications for which an open debate would be desirable.
At the moment there is no made in Italy substitute for the Dardo and after the experiences gained with those combat crawlers and with the Ariete tank, produced in a few specimens and never exported, we must ask ourselves how much it might be worth in terms of financial costs, capacity technologies and market, designing and developing an entirely national vehicle that would risk, as in the past, to reach the departments in great delay, offering performances not comparable to the most advanced foreign competitors.
Of course, these are strategic and not just industrial choices in which politics has the task of establishing national guidelines and interests, focusing or not on the ability to produce advanced and complete land-based weapons systems on their own, also taking into account the enormous financial resources to be deployed and market prospects.
After all, the Army has been looking with interest for some time at cooperation with other states for a new VCC in the context of the acquisition of new weapon systems .
The Army program document released in May 2020, regarding the new tracked vehicle for the heavy infantry component, provided for the reference to "a project within the PESCO area but for which, at the same time, alternative capacitive solutions are being studied, to be pursued through collaborations with other countries ".
A clear reference to the PESCO Armored Infantry Fighting Vehicle / Amphibious Assault Vehicle / Light Armored Vehicle program , launched in 2018 together with Greece and Slovakia (the latter, however, could look to the Lynx to replace the VCC OT-90 / BMP 1).
In the report of the Italian Army that last May identified "capabilities and systems" as one of the five challenges of the armed force, greater cooperation with Israel and the United States was highlighted, promoting "involvement in the modernization process of the US Army" through concrete participation to the Next Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV) for the construction of the successor to the Bradley tracked vehicle (tender in which the Lynx jointly offered by Rheinmetall and Raytheon also participates).
EVALUATIONS REQUIRED
The choice of European cooperation should appear, also politically, the most appropriate taking into account that, after the partial modernization of the Ariete tanks, Italy is aiming to enter multinational programs starting from the Franco-German one in that sector as well.
In the meeting on March 16 with the German counterpart Annagrete Kramp-Karrenbauer, Minister Guerini declared that Italy "will contribute to the integration process of European Defense, which cannot be separated from a growing and constructive cooperation between the Italian Armed Forces and German and between their respective defense industries ”.
On the industrial level, joining the Lynx program for significant industrial returns, the acquisition of an existing vehicle and the guarantee that the Army will be able to dispose of it within a reasonable time.
Of course it is all to be negotiated, aiming for an example to adopt a turret entirely made in Italy, and could also favor Italy's entry into the program for the new Franco-German tank (also to be negotiated with determination) while on a political-strategic level such an agreement would be preparatory to expanding Italian-German cooperation in the defense field to other sectors as well.
Italy is the third economic power and perhaps the second in terms of military capabilities of the EU but its contractual weight, also in industrial and financial terms, will be higher if it concentrates resources and pressures on a single negotiating table which, according to the guidelines announced so far, it should be the European one.
Moreover, without prejudice to the Atlantic agreements with the USA, it would be at least paradoxical if, after years of pounding defense of Europe, we lost the opportunity to become fully involved in the largest continental military programs.
Article published on analisidifesa.it
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/leonardo-rheinmetall-e-non-solo-tutti-i-rapporti-italia-germania-nella-difesa/ on Sun, 18 Apr 2021 14:11:51 +0000.