• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Ukraine - Ariete

Deputy Prime Minister, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said 23 January 2023 that his country is not participating in the discussion of the issue of sending tanks to Ukraine. According to the ANSA agency, he announced this on the sidelines of the Foreign Affairs Council meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels. "The Council has confirmed its attitude of support for Ukraine and the political unity of the EU and we will do everything to ensure that it can defend itself against Russian aggression and Italy will do its part, it being understood that the final objective is of peace while avoiding the surrender of Ukraine," Tajani said.

There had been very little public discussion of the transfer of the Italian Ariete tanks to ukraine. While the Ariete was designed with Italy's mountainous terrain in mind, it would seem poorly suited to the flat fields of Ukraine. Generally regarded qs the last powerful NATO tank design, Italy had only a small inventory of tanks potentially available for Ukraine.

The Italian Army operates 160 C1 Ariete (English: battering ram) tanks with a 120mm cannon in three tank regiments. Another 40 tanks are in storage – presumably used as a source of spare parts. The tank saw zero exports because no one wanted them, due in part to utterly pathetic armor and questionable logistics tail support. In any case, the C1 Ariete tank will remain in service in the Italian Army for the next 15 years. Only 125 out of only 200 C1 Ariete MBTs in service with the Italian army are to undergo such a modernization program. The other 75 tanks for the armed forces of Italy for some reason became "redundant", their further fate is not determined.

Compared to the Challenger 2, Abrams, Leopard 2 and Leclerc tanks Italy’s MBT has not seen the same level of attention and upgrades, leading many to regard it as a tank not fit for combat of today. The Ariete has some weaknesses that could certainly become an issue in the field. Most of these are related to its survivability and limited fire control systems.

It is a really under-armored tank. According to many specialists, the Ariete's armor no longer provides protection against the latest 120 and 125 mm rounds. Generally regarded as a "light tank" the 54 ton C1 Ariete Main Battle Tank is around 10 tons lighter than the better known German Leopard 2A7, and the Ariete weighs almost 20 tons less than an M1A2 Abrams yet is of a similar size. The weight comparisons indicate starkly the levels of armor protection afforded to each design.

The C1 Ariete is a 3rd generation main battle tank of the Italian Army, developed by Consorzio Iveco Oto Melara (CIO). The chassis and engine were produced by Iveco, while the turret and fire-control system were supplied by Oto Melara. The first generation of the tank appeared in 1986, it began to be mass-produced at the end of 1995, and the last serial tanks were delivered to the Italian army in 2002.

The tank has pretty good mobility. The 54 ton tank has a 1270hp engine, giving it a 29hp/t. It's got a top speed of 43mph. It's pretty light for a western tank so it shouldn't have much trouble crossing most bridges. As for firepower, it's uses the standard L/44 120mm gun. However, it doesn't fire DU so the tungsten rounds it fires will be less effective than the Leopard 2. However, the idea that L/44 is totally ineffective is completely false.

the Ariete’s ammunition is stored throughout the tank, posing a serious risk of detonation if the tank is penetrated by an incoming round. While the Ariete is not the only tank to lack separate ammunition compartments and blow off panels, its light hull armor makes this a bigger concern compared to other MBTs.

Another lacklustre feature of the Ariete is its optics and fire control systems. Its fire control systems were excellent for the day, but it is not up to standard with the latest systems. The commander lacks a dedicated thermal sight which can severely hamper the crew’s situational awareness.

Originally, it was planned to put 700 machines into service, in the end, the army received only 200 copies. The contract was signed in 1995, and the first armored regiment was fully equipped with them in 1996. Production continued until 2002. No specialized vehicles based on the hull of this tank were built.

It is a really under-armored tank. The C1 Ariete weighs about 18 tons less than the Abrams but is about the same size. Most of the added weight on the Abrams is due to its heavy protection. The fire control seems a bit lacking. The thermal sight does not have the 4000m target recognition of the Abrams, with only about 1500m. More importantly, it's hunter killer capabilities are similar to the Russians than other Western tanks.

During its service in Iraq the C-1 MBT was armed with two additional MG 42/59 7.62mm machine guns with protective shields. In addition, it was fitted with an add-on armor package weighing approximately two ton. The additional armor was mounted to the hull sides as well as to the sides and the front of the turret to withstand RPG-7 tandem hollow-charge warheads used in Iraq.

The option of retiring Ariete and replace it with other models was evalued by the Italian Army and it was deemed too expensive. License production was out of the question, there were no longer many surplus Leopard 2 available, newly built Leopard 2 were incredibly expensive and the production capacity is still very limited in any case; same goes for M1 Abrams. At the time, the South Korean K2 Black Panther was very expensive as it hadn't yet had any of the recent export success (in large part due to the war in Ukraine).

Italian army is set to modernize the Ariete to hit the target of keeping them in service until 2035. In August 2019, the Armaments Directorate (DAT) of the Italian Army signed a three-year contract with the CIO consortium worth 35 million euros to develop a project for the modernization of the Italian main tank Ariete C1 under the Ariete AMV program (Aggiornamento di Mezza Vita - "mid-life modernization" ) and for the manufacture of three prototypes for the modernization project. The deep modernization of 125 C1 Ariete tanks was given the green light in July 2019. The consortium of Iveco Defense Vehicles and OTO Melara – part of the Leonardo, will upgrade the tanks for 980 million euros.

According to the contract, the following must be delivered: AMV RT1 prototype, which includes improvements only to the engine compartment, chassis and body; the AMV RT2 prototype, which will, while retaining the old undercarriage and hull, have only an upgraded turret and fire control system; and, finally, the AMV RT3 prototype, which will be completely complete and have a modernized hull and turret. The Ariete AMV program provides for the serial modernization of 130 tanks, in the amount of 345 million euros.

The Italian company Leonardo showed the final version of the third prototype updated Ariete main battle tank in September 2022. Updates in the Ariete tank affected the chassis, improved armor and electronics. In particular, the tank received a new MTCA AMV engine from IVECO for 1500 horsepower instead of 1200 hp. It was also equipped with new tracks and a gearbox. The changes also affected armor. Ariete received improved protection against anti-tank guided missiles and RPGs. The hull of the tank received anti-mine bottom protection. It also has modules that allow you to install additional armor modules for peace support operations. To increase combat capability, a new optoelectronic system was installed on the tank and the electronics were updated.

It is an interim measure since, after 2035, the Italian Army intends to induct new generation tanks. Italy has long sought to enter the Franco-German MGCS (Main Ground Combat System) tank program. The MGCS tank will enter service around 2040. But the MGCS program is in trouble, mainly due to the inability to align the interests of German and French industries.