Italian Army receives first Lynx KF-41 IFVs from Leonardo Rheinmetall to replace Dardo fleet.

The Italian Army has taken delivery of its first four Lynx KF-41 infantry fighting vehicles, marking the start of the Army Armoured Combat Systems program aimed at replacing the VCC-80 Dardo.

On January 27, 2026, the Italian Army received the first four Lynx KF-41 infantry fighting vehicles at the Army Multifunctional Experimentation Center in Montelibretti. The delivery formally initiated the Army Armoured Combat Systems (A2CS) program and followed the signature of an initial contract for 21 vehicles at the end of 2025. The program plans to acquire up to 1,050 tracked vehicles in multiple variants to replace the VCC-80 Dardo, modernize Italy’s heavy brigades, and rationalize its armored fleet.
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The first four Lynx infantry fighting vehicles delivered to the Italian Army were fitted with Rheinmetall’s Lance 30 mm turret as an interim solution, but will later be retrofitted with Leonardo’s Hitfist 30 mm turret. (Picture source: Italian Army)

The Lynx KF-41 infantry fighting vehicle delivery to Italy followed the signature, at the end of 2025, of an initial contract covering 21 A2CS Combat vehicles and represents the first vehicles physically handed over to the Italian Army under this program. The handover was carried out by the Leonardo Rheinmetall Military Vehicles joint venture in the presence of Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, Chief of the Defence Staff General Luciano Portolano, Chief of Staff of the Italian Army General Carmine Masiello, Leonardo Chief Executive Officer Roberto Cingolani, and Dr. Björn Bernhard, Head of Rheinmetall Vehicle Systems Europe. Beyond the initial batch, a second contract phase planned within the first half of 2026 foresees the acquisition of an additional 30 A2CS Combat vehicles, which would bring the total to 51 vehicles before series production. 

The A2CS program, Army Armoured Combat Systems, was initiated in 2021 under its original name AICS, Armoured Infantry Combat System, to replace the VCC-80 Dardo and rationalize multiple tracked fleets under a single architecture. The program is designed to acquire a total of 1,050 tracked vehicles across 16 different configurations intended for heavy brigades, alpine units, training establishments, and sustainment centers. The A2CS is structured into two main phases: the first, running until 2029, focuses on prototype development and testing, followed by a second phase starting in 2030 dedicated to series production and deliveries. The program is paired with a separate main battle tank effort, centered on the KF-51 Panther, to renew the Italian Army’s heavy forces as a whole. 

Italy’s requirement for A2CS is directly linked to Italy’s growing recognition that its VCC-80 Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, which entered Italian Army service in the late 1990s and replaced earlier M113-based vehicles. The Dardo weighs about 23 tonnes and is armed with a 25 mm cannon, a 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun, and anti-tank missile launchers, but its aluminum and steel hull limits further increases in protection and payload. After more than 25 years of service and repeated deployments, the Dardo has reached its structural limits in armor growth, electrical power generation, and integration of modern digital command-and-control systems despite successive upgrades. These constraints led the Army to define requirements for a heavier vehicle with significantly higher growth margins. 

Italy’s interest in the Lynx began with evaluation activities in late 2024, when a KF-41 vehicle built in Hungary was delivered to Italy for testing at Montelibretti and Nettuno. The selection of the German armored vehicle was driven by its ability to meet Italian requirements without initiating a clean-sheet national development. The KF-41 variant offers a higher payload capacity and internal volume compared to earlier infantry fighting vehicles, enabling the integration of Italian turrets, command systems, and future subsystems. By adopting the Lynx, Italy aimed to shorten development timelines while retaining national control over vehicle configuration, testing, and evolution through domestic industrial participation. This approach also allowed the Army to plan a long-term fleet renewal around a single tracked chassis adaptable to multiple roles, significantly improving its logistics.

Rheinmetall Italia is involved in A2CS through the Leonardo Rheinmetall Military Vehicles joint venture, which is structured as a 50-50 partnership between Leonardo and Rheinmetall with its legal seat in Rome and operational headquarters in La Spezia. According to program planning, at least 60 percent of integration, qualification, delivery, logistical support, and parts of production activities are to be carried out in Italy. Rheinmetall Italia contributes to this share alongside Leonardo, supporting vehicle integration, testing, and sustainment in the national territory. This structure is intended to ensure long-term domestic industrial capacity for tracked vehicle production and upgrades. Thanks to this joint venture, Italy can foresee five main variants of the Lynx covering 16 roles, including infantry fighting, command post, air defence, mortar carrier, reconnaissance, and combat engineering, all derived from the same tracked chassis.

The Lynx KF-41 is a tracked infantry fighting vehicle developed by Rheinmetall and introduced publicly in 2018 as the larger member of the Lynx family, following the smaller KF-31. It belongs to the 40–50 tonne class, depending on armor configuration, and was designed from the outset with substantial payload and volume margins to support long-term growth. The vehicle measures about 7.7 meters in length and is configured for a three-person crew consisting of commander, gunner, and driver, with space for up to eight fully equipped dismounted infantry in the rear compartment. This internal layout reflects a design priority on infantry capacity while preserving space for mission systems, ammunition, and future upgrades without structural modification of the hull.

In terms of mobility, the Lynx KF-41 is powered by a Liebherr diesel engine rated at over 1,100 horsepower, coupled to a Renk HSWL 256 automatic transmission. This powerpack enables a maximum road speed of about 70 km/h and provides mobility comparable to modern main battle tanks despite the vehicle’s weight. For the Italian program, definitive A2CS vehicles are planned to integrate a new Italian-produced V8 diesel engine derived from the Centauro II. The Lynx could overcome obstacles, including gradients exceeding 60 percent, side slopes of about 30 percent, trench crossing of roughly 2.5 meters, vertical obstacle negotiation of about 1 meter, and fording up to around 1.5 meters without preparation.

The suspension and drivetrain are designed to support sustained cross-country operations and heavy armor packages while maintaining sufficient acceleration and maneuverability. Protection on the Lynx KF-41 is based on a layered and scalable concept combining a welded steel hull with modular add-on armor packages tailored to threat levels, as well as the planned integration of an active protection system on definitive A2CS variants. The Lynx incorporates mine and improvised explosive device protection through a reinforced hull structure, energy-absorbing seating, and decoupled floor elements. The design allows the integration of active protection systems such as Rheinmetall’s StrikeShield, as well as soft-kill measures including smoke and obscurant launchers.

Armament is turret-dependent; for instance, for the initial A2CS tranche, the first four vehicles delivered in January 2026 are equipped with Rheinmetall’s Lance turret armed with a 30 mm cannon, but are planned to be retrofitted later with Leonardo’s Hitfist 30 Plus turret. The remaining 17 vehicles of the first contract are scheduled to be delivered directly with the Leonardo Hitfist 30 mm turret, and all 21 vehicles will eventually be standardized on this configuration. The first Lynx combining a Rheinmetall hull and a Leonardo turret is planned for delivery in October 2026.

Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.