During the 29th edition of Eurosatory 2026, the international defense industry exhibition organized by Coges Events and taking place on June 15–19 this year at Paris-Nord Villepinte near Paris, the Italian-German joint venture Leonardo Rheinmetall Military Vehicles (LRMV), comprising Leonardo and Rheinmetall AG, unveiled the A2CS Lynx ITA infantry fighting vehicle for the Italian Army (Esercito Italiano).
Photos: Jakub Link-Lenczowski, MILMAG
Displayed alongside the NMBT (New Main Battle Tank) prototype, the vehicle represents the target configuration of the KF41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicle selected by Italy under the Army Armored Combat System program, which was renamed from Armored Infantry Combat System (AICS).
It should be recalled that the first batch of four vehicles handed over to the customer on January 27 this year ‒ part of the 21 KF41 Lynx vehicles, with an option for 30 more, ordered on November 5, 2025 ‒ included vehicles in both the German configuration, with the manned Lance 2.0 turret, and the target Italian configuration, with the Leonardo Hitfist 30 NG turret system. It is this second configuration that was presented in Paris. The contract in question covers the delivery of five KF41 Lynx vehicles and 16 A2CS Lynx ITA vehicles.
The vehicle has a combat weight of up to 44 tonnes, a crew of three soldiers and space for eight dismounts. It is expected to reach a maximum speed of more than 65 km/h. The aforementioned Hitfist 30 NG turret is armed with the new electrically powered Leonardo X-Gun 30-mm automatic cannon and a coaxial 7.62-mm machine gun. The armor is modular, with multispectral passive protection as well as mine and improvised explosive device protection.
All vehicle interfaces are to be compatible with the NGVA (NATO Generic Vehicle Architecture) electronic architecture, while the HUMS (Health and Usage Monitoring System) vehicle health monitoring system is intended to support predictive maintenance.
Specialist variants are to be developed on the basis of the IFV, as the A2CS program ultimately provides for the purchase of up to 1,050 new infantry fighting vehicles, including around 650 in the baseline variant, to replace 200 VCC-80 Dardo IFVs. The A2CS Lynx ITA family includes 16 specialist variants, including an artillery-missile air defense system such as Oerlikon Skyranger, as well as a reconnaissance vehicle and a tank destroyer.