Italy’s Leonardo has signed an agreement with KNDS Deutschland to work together on a new self-propelled howitzer that will combine an existing German artillery module as well as an Italian chassis.
It is about concluding a letter of intent, which was reported in particular by Leonardo. The names of the components that will be used in the joint project have not been announced, but the most likely thing is that the Italians want to receive the artillery module of the RCH-155 self-propelled howitzer by KNDS.
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This event is quite unexpected as just a couple of weeks ago, at the end of November this year, Leonardo presented its new artillery development - the autonomous RH1-155/52 HITFIRE turret. In this system, the Italians actually repeated what the Germans did with the RCH-155. The Italian solution also provides for full automation of all processes, which allows reducing the crew to 2-3 people. The Italian artillery system also has a relatively small weight of 13 tons, which allows it to be installed on a wheeled chassis.
Moreover, Leonardo then outlined that it would not take much time to complete the development and that all work would be completed by the end of 2026 or the beginning of 2027. But now, given the intention to get the finished RCH-155 turret, questions arise about the feasibility of continuing its own development.
Most likely, the Italians want to use the upgraded chassis of the Freccia wheeled combat vehicle by Iveco as the base chassis for a joint artillery system based on the RCH-155 with the Germans. The Leonardo announced the acquisition of Iveco this summer, while this process should be completed in the first quarter of 2026.
Leonardo does not report the reasons for its decision to cooperate with KNDS Deutschland, as well as whether this means the closure of the project to create the RH1-155/52 HITFIRE artillery system. At the same time, it is known that the ultimate goal of this joint Italian-German project is to offer the Italian army the best solution.
Perhaps the Leonardo was unable to interest the Italian Ministry of Defense in purchasing the RH1-155/52 HITFIRE system, and they in the ministry preferred the German artillery system…
As Defense Express reported, Italy pushed forward with AW249 attack helicopter, costly bet on homegrown airpower.
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