Speaking at the ceremony, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said: “The international scenario requires a constantly evolving Defence, capable of ensuring the security of the country and safeguarding national interests.” He added: “Within this framework comes the delivery of the Lynx armoured vehicle, the result of Italian-German industrial cooperation, to the Italian Army, aimed at strengthening land systems through the introduction of state-of-the-art platforms.”
The Chief of Staff of the Italian Army, General Carmine Masiello, said: “The Army has a clear direction and well-defined requirements for the new vehicles to accelerate the ‘mechanisation’ path of the Armed Force, which concretely begins today.” He added: “They will be able to operate at their best if equipped with technology that meets the challenges ahead: this vehicle will radically change the way the Army fights.”
Leonardo Chief Executive Officer Roberto Cingolani stated: “The start of deliveries of the new armoured vehicles represents an important milestone in the programme we are carrying out with the Italian Army.” Rheinmetall Chief Executive Officer Armin Papperger said: “With the handover of the first armoured vehicles to the Italian armed forces, we are opening a new chapter in the success story of the Lynx vehicle family.”
The four vehicles delivered are equipped with Rheinmetall’s Lance 30mm turret, which will later be replaced by Leonardo’s Hitfist 30mm turret, while the remaining 16 vehicles under this contract will be fitted with the Hitfist system. The A2CS programme, alongside the new main battle tank programme, is intended to renew the Italian Army’s heavy vehicle fleet with highly digitalised and connected platforms capable of operating in complex multidomain environments.
