KNDS and Leonardo abandon talks on Italian Leopard 2A8 and IFV procurement

KNDS and Leonardo have abandoned negotiations on Italian procurement of the Leopard 2A8 MBT and the replacement of the Dardo IFV (pictured during Exercise ‘Spring Storm in Estonia in May 2023). (Janes/Nicholas Fiorenza)

KNDS and Leonardo announced in separate press releases on 11 June that they had abandoned negotiations on forming a partnership and Italian procurement of the Leopard 2A8 main battle tank (MBT) and a new infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), referring to the replacement for Italy's Dardo IFV.

Announced in December 2023, the negotiations' strategic aim was to form a partnership between Leonardo's defence division and KNDS with the operational objective of jointly developing and producing the Leopard 2A8 as well as partnering on an IFV for the Italian procurement of the two armoured vehicles.

KNDS CEO Frank Haun said, “The parties did not manage to agree on configuration and consequently, talks about Leonardo's strategic participation in KNDS have also fallen short. Yet KNDS continues to be committed to support the Italian Army.”

Janes understands that KNDS thinks Leonardo had tried to negotiate too many modifications to the Leopard 2A8 but the company would not reveal what they were.

In a statement on 11 June, Leonardo confirmed “its commitment to provide the Italian Army with a performant, interoperable, and up-to-date solution, satisfying the present requirements and remaining well-positioned for future developments toward[s the] Main Ground Combat System (MGCS), also through co-operation with other qualified international partners.”