The C1 Ariete tank is equipped with a steel and composite blend armor similar to the British Challenger 2 and American M1 Abrams.

Introduce

C1 Ariete, the pride of the Italian Army is considered by the military scholars to be a tank with powerful firepower and good defenses. Not only that, this is also the most durable tank in the world when it can operate 16,000km continuously without overhaul.

The Italian C1 Ariete main battle tank was developed by Iveco-Fiat and Oto Melara, in which the chassis and engine were manufactured by Iveco while the turret and fire control system were provided by Oto Melara.

Ariete was born under the expectation of replacing the obsolete M60A1s of Italy in the 1980s. The C1 Ariete project was first revealed in 1986, shortly after, six prototypes were built in 1988. The first mass production was intended to be delivered to the Italian Army in 1993 but was actually delayed until 1995 and the final shipment was completed in August 2002. In all, about 200 C1 Ariete tanks were built.

The name of the tank, Ariete, in honor of Italy’s famous World War II armored division, fought alongside the Afrika Korps from 1941 to 1943.

Ariete Main Battle Tank
Ariete Main Battle Tank

Design

In terms of design, Ariete is quite similar to the traditional main battle tanks, with the driver’s cabin arranged in the left front, the remaining members in the middle compartment and the engine arranged at the rear.

Compared to most Western MBTs, the hull of the Italian tank is a bit smaller. The total weight is 54 tons, a length of 9.52m, a width of 3.61m and a height of 2.45m. The tank will need a crew of 4.

The hull frontal glacis is well sloped, but the sides are flat, with a raised rear engine deck, starting after the turret ring. The powertrain consists of idlers at the front, adjustable drive sprockets at the rear.

There are seven paired roadwheels that are hung by a torsion bar with suspension arms. There are also a hydraulic damping system, friction dampers and four return rollers on each side. The fenders with headlamps protected above and armored side skirts are made of six separate panels.

The C1 Ariete tank is equipped with a steel and composite blend armor similar to the British Challenger 2 and American M1 Abrams. On each side of the turret is a GALIX grenade launcher to hide the tank in front of enemy’s thermal, optical and radar observation devices. Besides, the crew is fully protected from biochemical agents.

Powerplant

The heart of this steel monster is a 25.8 liter Fiat-Iveco MTCA V12 turbocharged engine with a capacity of 1,250 horsepower, a maximum torque of 4,615 Nm at 1,600 rpm. The maximum speed on the asphalt reaches 65 km/h and can accelerate from 0 to 32 km/h in 6 seconds.

The tank has a range of 600 km, the computer-controlled transmission allows it to climb grades rated up to 60%, and can ford waterways of up to 1.25m on-the-fly. The entire engine and transmission assembly can be replaced in under 1 hour.

However, after being put into operation, the tank revealed a few defects because the engine did not provide enough power, so it often had to run at high RPM, leading to low engine life. Moreover, to ensure a good power-to-weight ratio, the tank was designed to weigh less than 60 tons.

Ariete’s relatively light weight helps lower fuel consumption and is advantageous when operating on complex terrains. However, the tank had to sacrificed the thickness of its armor in comparison to other NATO main battle tanks.

Currently, the C1 Ariete tank has a modernized version with a new engine of 30 liters, capacity of 1,600 horsepower, torque of 5,500 Nm maintained from 1,100 to 1,800 rpm to reduce damage to the transmission. The tank also has a new armor developed by Oto Melara, this prototype was first shown at the Eurosatory 2002 weapons exhibition.

Armament

The main armament of the C1 Ariete is a 120 mm L44 smoothbore gun manufactured by Oto Breda, which has an electro-hydraulic stabilization system. The gun barrel has a thermal insulating sleeve and a fume extractor that allows it to fire modern APFSDS-T and HEAT rounds as well as all 120 mm NATO-standard rounds. It can carry 42 rounds of which 27 are in the hull and the remaining 15 are arranged in a special storage compartment behind the turret, separated from the crew by a steel door that could open easily when the vehicle was hit.

Secondary armament consists of a 7.62 mm MG 42/59 coaxial machine gun controlled by the gunner or commander. Another 7.62 mm MG 42/59 machine gun is located on the roof of the turret to take over air defense function, this gun is controlled by the reloader from his position.

Fire control system

The fire control system OG14L3 TURMS of tanks produced by Galileo Avionica, including the commander’s SP-T-694 day and night observation device, the gunner’s infrared viewfinder and laser rangefinder to quickly detect targets.

The digital fire control computer is capable of measuring wind speed, humidity and external weather conditions, which further enhances the accuracy of the shot. The computer is also a component of the navigation system, allowing tactical information exchange between tanks.

On the C1 Ariete tank there is a system called “Hunter – Killer” that helps the commander to observe the 360-degree panoramic view of the battlefield without having to change his position to avoid being exposed. In combat, the commander and the gunner share a thermal viewfinder, in this shooting mode the tank is capable of handling targets from a distance of 1,500m.

Currently, the Italian army is the only force in the world to own this tank with the number of 200 units. In the early 2000s, an upgraded version was planned for development, called the C2 Ariete.

Due to budget restrictions, the program was later canceled. However, the planned improvements were applied to C1 Ariete as mentioned above. In the near future, C1 Ariete will remain the backbone of the Italian Army.

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