Italy moves forward with €10 billion KF51 tanks upgrade

According to the portal Defence Industry Europe, on the 16th of January, the Italian defence minister outlined at the IAV 2025 conference plans to acquire up to 380 KF51 Panther tanks to complement over a thousand vehicles based on the KF41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicle chassis. The programme is valued at over 10 billion euros, and these new tanks will eventually replace the C1/C2 Ariete.

This continues the modernisation programme, where it was initially planned to purchase Leopard 2A8 tanks. However, this plan failed due to the inability of the Italian arms industry to reach an agreement with the German consortium KNDS. Ultimately, it appears Rheinmetall offered Italy a more favourable deal.

Current estimates indicate that under the joint venture Leonardo Rheinmetall Military Vehicles (LRMV), established in October 2024, approximately 60% of the production will be carried out in Italy at the factories in La Spezia.

The KF-51 Panther is a modern tank, an evolution of the legendary Leopard 2 concept. It is lighter than the Leopard 2 but equipped with a more powerful cannon and an advanced situational awareness system.

The recently presented version of the KF51 Panther weighs approximately 66 tonnes, and its design has been adapted for rail transportation in accordance with the AMovP-4L tunnel standard. Despite its lower weight compared to the latest Leopard 2 models, which weigh about 78 tonnes, the KF51's protection level is expected to remain similar to or even better than that of the Leopard 2 models. The standard will also include a necessary active protection system.

It's worth noting that designing from scratch is often easier than adapting existing structures, such as a tank turret. In older designs, every added kilogram in the form of armour or new systems requires a counterbalance, which is unnecessary when creating from scratch.

The current version of the KF51 Panther was presented with a manned turret, although a KF51U variant with an unmanned turret was also showcased. It is equipped with a new 130 mm Rh-130 cannon, providing 50% more kinetic energy than the currently used 120 mm Rh-120 guns. The energy generated by the new cannon reaches 15-20 megajoules, which is expected to guarantee the destruction of any existing tank, including the Russian T-14 Armata.

The tank crew consists of three soldiers, which is made possible using an automatic loader. Optionally, a fourth crew member can be added to operate unmanned systems, such as Hero-120 loitering munitions capable of conducting reconnaissance missions or attacking targets up to 60 kilometres away. Overall, it offers a much better platform than the Leopard 2A8 for countries needing a new platform immediately.