What are the main drivers of Member States’ defence procurement practices? The Italian case

The progresses towards the enhancement of the joint level envisaged from the 1990s reforms onwards have been slow, and the 2016 White Book on International Security and Defence has unfortunately seen very limited implementation. [...] Giorgia Meloni’s government further stressed it over the last couple of years, by taking a strong, Atlanticist position on the Russian war of aggression and future Ukrainian accession to NATO, while quitting the China-led Belt and Road Initiative to reaffirm its commitment on the Western side of the international community. [...] The cooperation undertaken between Leonardo and KNDS to supply main battle tanks to the Italian army collapsed in 2024, and a new cooperative initiative has been launched in this regard by the Italian company and Rheinmetall, with a view to establish a joint venture by the end of this year9. [...] The strategic implications of the war, coupled with technological innovation, make this phase a crucial one for the positioning of Italian armed forces and industries on a number of key dossiers: decisions to be taken today and in the next years will likely influence procurement, capability development and national DTIB for decades. [...] Italian MoD has also decided to use OCCAR for the procurement of the Navy’s Pattugliatori Polivalenti d’Altura15 and Logistic Support Ship16 to showcase the programmes to possible partners and avoid the hurdles and delays of national legal framework for procurement.