Italy to order over 500 tanks from German defence giant Rheinmetall

This might be the largest order in the defence company Rheinmetall's history. The Italians want to order over 500 tanks from the German manufacturer. According to n-tv.de, the contract could be worth 17 billion pounds.

Italy plans to purchase military equipment in Germany, including Panther battle tanks and Lynx infantry fighting vehicles, according to the newspaper Handelsblatt. The order will be fulfilled over 15 years and will include the maintenance of the combat vehicles. The estimated cost of the transaction is 17 billion pounds.

German media pointed out that the company neither confirmed nor denied this information. As a result, Rheinmetall's shares increased by 3.4 percent.

In fulfilling the order, the German company is to cooperate with the Italian defence company Leonardo. "In the case of large orders in the defence industry, an attempt is usually made to fulfil part of the volume in the client's country," notes "Handelsblatt". In this case, it is about tanks.

This is another large order for Rheinmetall in recent times. Recently, the company announced that a framework agreement was signed with the Bundeswehr, which delivers up to 7,165 vehicles worth nearly 3 billion pounds. Meanwhile, in June the Bundeswehr ordered ammunition worth 7.7 billion pounds.