On November 5, 2025, the Leonardo Rheinmetall Military Vehicles (LMRV) joint venture of the Italian company Leonardo and the German Rheinmetall group received a contract to supply the Italian Army with the first batch of KF41 Lynx tracked infantry fighting vehicles consisting of 21 units under the A2CS (Army Armored Combat System) program. The contract provides for the supply of the first five infantry fighting vehicles in the "Hungarian" configuration with the Rheinmetall Lance combat module (turret) and 16 infantry fighting vehicles in the version chosen by the Italian army with the Italian Leonardo Hitfist 30 manned combat module (turret). Deliveries of the first five vehicles with the Lance combat module should be made by the end of 2025 from Rheinmetall's head office in Unterluss (Germany).
A sample of the Rheinmetall KF41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicle with the Rheinmetall Lance combat module delivered to the Italian Army for evaluation tests at the Italian Army's UTTAT test center in Nettuno, January 2025 (c) www.edrmagazine.eu
Another 11 vehicles under this contract will be delivered in 2026, and the last five in 2027. Apparently, all the first 21 infantry fighting vehicles for Italy will be manufactured in Unterluss. The options to the contract provide for the subsequent replacement of the Lance combat modules on the Hitfist 30 on the first five vehicles, as well as the supply of another 30 infantry fighting vehicles in the "Italian" configuration, and the supply of simulators. The Italian version of the infantry fighting vehicle will use the new Leonardo X-Gun 30×173 mm automatic cannon installed in the Hitfist 30 turret.
In July 2024, Leonardo and Rheinmetall signed a memorandum on the establishment of the Leonardo Rheinmetall Military Vehicles (LMRV) joint venture to organize joint development and production in Italy for the needs of the Italian army of new armored platforms based on Rheinmetall projects, including a tank based on KF51 Panther and infantry fighting vehicles based on KF41 Lynx. On October 15, 2024, the creation of the LMRV was officially formalized. The headquarters of LMRV is located in Rome, and the main production facilities will be located at the former Oto Melara squares in La Spezia, where it is planned to conduct the main production of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles for the Italian army.
The agreement between Leonardo and Rheinmetall apparently predetermined the choice of the Italian army in favor of creating a promising tank under the i-Main Battle Tank (i-MBT) program on the KF51 Panther platform, and a promising infantry fighting vehicle under the Armored Infantry Combat System (AICS, then renamed the Army Armored Combat System - A2CS in 2025) - on the KF41 Lynx platform. Since December 2024, one KF41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicle has been undergoing evaluation tests at the Italian army's UTTAT (Ufficio Tecnico Territoriale Armamenti Terrestri) test center in Nettuno near Rome. In total, under the A2CS program, the Italian army intends to purchase 1,050 new infantry fighting vehicles and various vehicles based on them, with deliveries starting in 2028, and 272 new tanks under the i-MBT program.
Previously, under the A2CS program, the Italian army intends to receive five main variants of vehicles based on the KF41 platform - a linear infantry fighting vehicle with a Leonardo Hitfist 30 turret with a 30 mm Leonardo X-Gun automatic cannon, a fire support vehicle ("medium" tank) with a Leonardo Hitfact turret with a 120 mm Leonardo cannon, and a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun with 30Rheinmetall Skyranger 30 turreted anti-aircraft artillery system, a self-propelled mortar with a 120 mm automated mortar system Patria NEMO in the turret, and an armored personnel carrier without a turret, on the basis of which, in turn, it is planned to create 12 more special variants (in particular, reconnaissance, medical, simplified 120 mm self-propelled mortar with a location in Turret-less versions should be equipped with a remote-controlled Leonardo HITROLE 50 combat module with a 12.7 mm machine gun.
Italy thus became the second customer of the KF41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicle after Hungary, which signed a contract in 2020 for the purchase of 209 of these vehicles in seven variants. According to the Hungarian contract, 46 infantry fighting vehicles are manufactured by Rheinmetall (deliveries were made in 2022-2025), and the rest should be manufactured in Hungary by the Rheinmetall Hungary joint venture with Rheinmetall with a new production complex in Zalaegerszeg, commissioned in 2023. The assembly of the KF41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicle in Zalaegerszeg began in December 2023, and it was the Hungarian-built infantry fighting vehicle that was delivered to Italy for testing at the end of 2024.
To date, the KF41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicle has also been selected for purchase by Greece (it is tentatively planned to purchase 205 units), and in 2024 plans were announced to acquire it by the armed forces of Ukraine, and it was stated that they are planned to be produced in Ukraine at a joint venture with the Rheinmetall group. At the end of 2024, one KF41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicle was delivered to Rheinmetall Ukraine for field testing. However, in early November 2025, Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger stated that there was still no financing for the creation of production of these infantry fighting vehicles in Ukraine, and the relevant contract had not yet been signed. According to Papperger, the construction of a plant in Ukraine would require significant financial investments and would only make sense if at least 200-300 machines were produced there. According to Papperger, Rheinmetall is currently manufacturing five more Lynx infantry fighting vehicles for Ukraine at its facility in Germany, which will probably also be used for testing.
In addition, the KF41 Lynx-based vehicle, represented by the Team Lynx consortium led by the American branch of the German Rheinmetall group (Rheinmetall North America), is one of two contenders in the US Army's competition for the promising XM30 infantry fighting vehicle under the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) program.
A sample of the Rheinmetall KF41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicle with the Rheinmetall Lance combat module delivered to the Italian Army for evaluation tests at the Italian Army's UTTAT testing center in Nettuno, January 2025 (c) www.edrmagazine.eu
The Italian army is planning to purchase five main variants of armored vehicles based on the Rheinmetall KF41 Lynx (c) LRMV BMP platform.
The planned delivery schedule for the Italian army of advanced combat vehicles under the Armored Infantry Combat System / Army Armored Combat System program and advanced tanks under the i-Main Battle Tank (c) LRMV program
