Ariete Armored Brigade The " Ariete " Armored Brigade is the only active armored brigade of the Italian Army . Its core units are Tank and Bersaglieri regiments . The brigade ' s headquarters is in the city of Pordenone . Most of its units are based in the North - East of Italy . The brigade ' s name comes from the battering ram ( in Italian : " Ariete " ) . The brigade draws much of its historical traditions from the 132nd Armoured Division Ariete , famously active during the Second World War from 1939 - 42 , and again active from 1948 - 1986 . The brigade is part of the 1st Defence Forces Command . Constitution . On 1 October 1986 the Italian Army abolished the divisional level and brigades , that until then had been under one of the Armys four divisions , came forthwith under direct command of the Armys 3rd and 5th Army Corps . As the 132nd Armored Division " Ariete " carried a historically significant name , the division ceased to exist on 30 September in Pordenone and the next day the " Manin " Armored Brigade in Aviano changed its name to 132nd " Ariete " Armored Brigade . With the division disbanded the brigade came now under direct command of the 5th Army Corps . The 5th Army Corps was tasked with defending the Italian - Yugoslavian border against possible attacks by either the Warsaw Pact , or Yugoslavia or both . The brigade ’ s authorized strength was 3 , 381 men ( 214 Officers , 516 non - commissioned officers and 2 , 651 soldiers ) and it was initially composed by the following units : History . On 10 January 1991 the brigade disbanded the 10th Tank Battalion and the 20th Artillery Group . The 13th Tank Battalion had already been reduced to a reserve unit and was subsequently transferred to the " Mantova " Mechanized Brigade in December 1989 . As replacement the brigade received units from brigades disbanded during the Army ' s draw - down of forces after the end of the Cold War : from the disbanded " Mameli " Armored Brigade came the 3rd Tank Battalion " M . O . Galas " , the 5th Tank Battalion " M . O . Chiamenti " and the 23rd Bersaglieri Battalion " Castel di Borgo " . From the " Garibaldi " Mechanized Brigade , which had moved to Caserta in the south of Italy , came the 19th Self - propelled Field Artillery Group " Rialto " . In 1992 the brigade received the 2nd ( Training ) Battalion " Pordenone " , while the 23rd Bersaglieri Battalion moved to Trapani in Sicily to join the " Aosta " Mechanized Brigade . The same year the brigades battalions returned to be called regiments , although size and composition did not change . When the " Mantova " Mechanized Brigade was disbanded on 30 August 1997 the Ariete received the 82nd Mechanized Infantry Regiment " Torino " in Cormons ; but already on 5 November 2001 the 82nd Regiment moved to Barletta in Southern Italy to join the " Pinerolo " Armored Brigade . On 1 December 2000 the brigade took command of the 10th Engineer Regiment . When the " Centauro " Armored Brigade disbanded on 5 October 2002 the " Ariete " received the 3rd Bersaglieri Regiment and the 4th Tank Regiment . On 25 November 2009 the 3rd Bersaglieri Regiment moved to Sardinia and joined the " Sassari " Mechanized Brigade . Missions . In 1998 the Brigade ' s HQ , HQ & Tactical Support Battalion and Combat Service Support Battalion were deployed for a tour of duty in Sarajevo ( Bosnia and Herzegovina , under the provision of the SFOR mandate for Operation Constant Forge , and three times in Kosovo ( 1999 – 2000 , 2001 , 2002 ) in Operation Joint Guardian , then Operation Consistent Effort , attached to NATO ' s Kosovo Force . In 2001 , the first enlisted women joined the ranks of the brigade units . These were later followed by female NCOs and Officers . In 2002 , elements from 10th Combat Engineer Regiment , and in 2004 the 132nd Artillery Regiment , took were deployed to Afghanistan . A significant part of the brigade was twice deployed to Iraq - first in early 2004 and a second time from late 2005 to early 2006 . The latest overseas commitments were two deployments to Lebanon from early October 2007 to Spring 2008 , then again in early summer to late Fall 2009 . Small contribution of personnel ( notably Staff Officers and NCOs ) have been and are being provided to nearly all commitments overseas of Italian Army , from the Balkans , to Multinational HQs all around the world , including OMLT mentors supporting and advising the Afghan National Army in its struggle against insurgents . Today . The Armored Brigade " Ariete " is along with the Bersaglieri Brigade " Garibaldi " one of only two heavy formations still in service with the Italian Army . The brigade is part of the 1st Operational Command in Vittorio Veneto . With the 2013 reform the brigade lost the 4th Tank Regiment and received the 5th Cavalry Regiment " Lancieri di Novara " from the disbanded " Pozzuolo del Friuli " Cavalry Brigade . The brigade headquarters is in Pordenone and the brigade consists today of the following units : All regiment s are battalion sized . Equipment . The tank regiments are equipped with Ariete main battle tank s . The Bersaglieri regiment fields a mix of Dardo infantry fighting vehicle s and Lince light multirole vehicles . The Cavalry regiment is equipped with a mix of Centauro tank destroyer s and Puma 4x4 wheeled armored personnel carriers . The artillery regiment is equipped with PzH 2000 self - propelled howitzers . References . Italian Army Homepage : Ariete Armored Brigade History