Leonardo, Rheinmetall secure 3.7-billion-euro contracts with Italian army, MF daily says

ROME, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Italy's Leonardo and Germany's Rheinmetall have secured through their joint venture two contracts with the Italian army worth €3.7 billion ($4.16 billion) in total for armoured vehicles, the MF newspaper reported on Thursday.

The orders are for the supply of the A2CS combat vehicles and the new generation MBT tanks and are part of Italy's wider military modernisation programme, the Italian financial daily added.

Rheinmetall declined to comment.

Leonardo CEO Lorenzo Mariani said he could not confirm whether the contract had been signed "as any communication on the matter must be coordinated with our clients".

Leonardo and Rheinmetall launched their 50-50 joint venture in 2024.

"The programme is ready to enter production from our side. We are actively working on both the tank programme and the Future Combat System (FCS), and are progressing on both in close cooperation with Rheinmetall," Mariani said in Rome.

Speaking on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the state-backed Fondo Italiano d'Investimento, he stressed the importance of tanks for the modernisation of Italy's defence, for exports, and for the broader partnership with Rheinmetall.

($1 = 0.8894 euros)

(Reporting by Alvise Armellini, Emanuele Berro and Giulia Segreti, editing by Francesca Piscioneri)