Italy has given the green light to purchase Leopard 2 tanks produced by the German company Krauss-Maffei. The favorable vote took place at the Defense commission of the Chamber of Deputies yesterday. The acquisition program will have a total duration of 14 years and will take place in two phases: the first is the preparatory one (2024-2026), while the second (2027-2037) concerns the actual acquisition of 132 tanks and up to 140 armored platforms. The overall cost is estimated at 8 billion and 246 million euros.

"In fact, it will allow the start of a vast multi-year program for the renewal of the armored component of the army, which became necessary due to the obsolescence which the systems currently online are facing and the new NATO requirements, conditioned by recent developments on the international scene", explains the president of the Italian Defense commission of the Chamber of Deputies, Nino Minardo.

"The acquisition of existing vehicles of German production -he concludes- is clearly the fastest solution that meets our needs. However, the positive impact that the operation could have on small and medium-sized Italian businesses, creating an oriented towards technological and skills growth which would also allow a delocalisation of the production of some parts and subsystems and would fuel the demand for the supply of manpower".