The Iveco – Oto Melara Consortium, CIO in short, is formed between Iveco Defence Vehicles, an Iveco Group company, and Leonardo, and for over 30 years it has been the reference point for the Italian MoD in terms of ground vehicles. Its origins can be traced back to the early ‘80s when Italy, on the verge of launching a programme to fully renew its combat vehicles park, felt the need for a single industrial interface. This led in 1985 to join the two national land armaments prime companies, Iveco and OTO Melara, into a consortium with equal participation. Each company brought its capabilities to develop a brand new family of wheeled and tracked vehicles ranging from MBTs to light wheeled APCs. Iveco Defence Vehicles is responsible for engines, gears and all the automotive components, the hull and the final integration of wheeled armoured vehicles while Leonardo is responsible for weapon systems, sight and fire control systems of both wheeled and tracked vehicles, the hull and the final integration of tracked armoured vehicles. Both companies have excellent skills in the field of protection against direct fire, mines and IEDs.

Iveco Defence Vehicles is dedicated to delivering innovative automotive and protection solutions to meet the needs of military customers worldwide. The company manufactures specialist military logistic, protected and armoured vehicles in its facility in Bolzano in Northern Italy, as well as marketing Iveco’s full commercial range, adapted as necessary to meet the demands of the military user. In consequence, Iveco Defence Vehicles has a full range of vehicles to meet a broad spectrum of defence applications.

Leonardo is a global industrial group, among the main global players in Aerospace, Defence and Security that realises multi-domain technological capabilities in Helicopters, Aircraft, Aerostructures, Electronics, Cyber Security and Space. With over 53,000 employees worldwide, the company has a solid industrial presence in Italy, the UK, Poland and the US. It also operates in 150 countries through subsidiaries such as Leonardo DRS (Defence Electronics), as well as joint ventures and investments such as ATR (Aircraft), MBDA and Hensoldt (Defence Electronics), Telespazio, Thales Alenia Space, and Avio (Space). A key player in major international strategic programmes, it is a technological and industrial partner of governments, defence administrations, institutions and companies. In 2023, Leonardo recorded consolidated revenues of € 15.3 bn, new orders for € 17.9 bn and invested € 2.2 bn in R&D. Innovation, continuous research, digital industry and sustainability are the pillars of its business worldwide. The company is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, and its US subsidiary, Leonardo DRS, is listed on the US high-tech list NASDAQ. Leonardo is also listed in the MIB ESG INDEX, Italy’s first index dedicated to the 40 blue chips with the best ESG performance and has been in S&P Global’s Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for 14 years, where it has ranked highest in the Aerospace and Defence sector for the fifth year running.