Chief Executive Lorenzo Mariani said the joint venture between Leonardo and Rheinmetall was already operational. It is working under its first Italian contract linked to the A2CS requirement.
Mariani said he was optimistic that the two additional contracts could be finalised in the coming months. The comments were made during Leonardo’s second-quarter 2026 earnings call.
The planned agreements would deepen cooperation between the two European defence groups in armoured land systems. Leonardo is also treating the partnership as one of the industrial initiatives it can move forward directly and at a faster pace.
Funding for the Italian programmes could include support from the European Union’s SAFE mechanism. Mariani said both contracts included a hypothesis of partial SAFE coverage.
He stressed that SAFE financing was not required for the contracts to proceed. Mariani said there was a concrete possibility of signing them with or without support from the mechanism.
The Italian government was still considering whether to use all or part of the €14.9 billion booked under SAFE, according to Mariani. He said Leonardo’s major programmes in its industrial plan were already largely covered by existing defence budgets.
The cooperation with Rheinmetall also forms part of Leonardo’s broader push into the land domain. Mariani said the acquisition of Iveco Defence Vehicles gives Leonardo a stronger industrial base and allows it to combine Iveco capabilities with Oto Melara.
Leonardo is also continuing discussions with Rheinmetall over the future of Iveco’s truck business. Mariani said a possible sale to Rheinmetall remained one option, but added that there was no urgency to reach a decision.
He also said Leonardo had received approaches from other parties interested in a potential acquisition of the truck operation. For now, the more immediate focus remains on expanding the two companies’ cooperation in Italian armoured vehicle programmes.
