Leonardo is in talks with Germany's Rheinmetall for a strategic alliance on tanks.

A source close to the discussions said this, effectively confirming an article in La Repubblica that Leonardo is looking at Rheinmetall after negotiations with the French-German consortium Kmw+Nexter Defence Systems (Knds) failed.

Yesterday, Leonardo announced that it was abandoning negotiations with Knds for a tank alliance, stressing that it would continue to engage in the development of a new generation of armored vehicle platforms for the Italian military-the Main Ground Combat System (Mgcs)-"through cooperation with other qualified partners."

Rheinmetall did not comment on this.

In November, Leonardo CEO Roberto Cingolani had said the group wants to focus on European alliances and create regional giants.

(Translated by Chiara Scarciglia, editing Claudia Cristoferi)