C - 1 Ariete The C1 Ariete is the main battle tank of the Italian Army , developed by a consortium formed by Iveco - Fiat and Oto Melara ( aka CIO , Consorzio Iveco Oto Melara ) . The chassis and engine were produced by Iveco , while the turret and fire - control system were produced by Oto Melara . The vehicle carries the latest optical and digital - imaging and fire - control systems , enabling it to fight day and night and to fire on the move . The first deliveries were in 1995 , and the last occurred 8 years later in August 2002 . Armament . The Ariete is mounted with a 120 mm smoothbore Oto Melara cannon , autofrettage d and stress - hardened to increase durability over extended periods of fire , allowing the use of APFSDS and ( HEAT ) rounds . Secondary armament consists of a 7 . 62 mm coaxial machine gun and another 7 . 62 mm anti - aircraft machine gun manned by the tank commander . Crew and tank protection . The Ariete ' s armour is a steel and composite blend , similar to the British Challenger 2 tank and the American M1 Abrams . The Ariete features two side - mounted , electronically - fired grenade launchers . Each launcher consists of four barrels which can be intermixed with either smoke or chaff grenades . The smoke grenades are capable of shrouding the tank from visual or thermal detection , while the chaff grenades disperse the tank ' s radar cross section . The tank is fully NBC protected . Fire control and target acquisition . The tank ' s fire - control system , manufactured by Galileo Avionica , is designated TURMS , and includes day and night panoramic capability for the commander ' s scope , stabilized gunner ' s platform including thermal optics and a laser rangefinder to increase accuracy and expedite target detection and targeting , and a digital fire - control mini - computer , which is capable of measuring wind speed , humidity , and exterior weather conditions , combining them with the turret ' s angle of elevation , attitude , and the barrel ' s physical wear to increase accuracy . Powerplant and drivetrain . The Ariete is powered by a 25 . 8 litres turbo - charged Fiat - Iveco 12 - cylinder diesel engine rated at 937 kilowatts ( 1250HP ) at 2 . 300 rpm , with a max torque of 4 . 615 Nm at 1 . 600 rpm driving through a ZF LSG3000 automatic transmission , with four forward gears and two reverse , allowing for a top cruising speed of 65 km / h . The transmission allows it to climb grades rated up to 60 % , and can ford waterways of up to 1 . 25 - m on - the - fly . The caterpillar track s are fairly standard , composed of seven road wheels and four drive rollers . Developments . During the first years of adoption , the Ariete MBT showed some deficiencies regarding the powerplant . While the original V12 1 , 250 hp FIAT - Iveco MTCA ( Modular Turbo - Charged Aftercooler ) was a coupling of two of the V6 engines used by several Italian Army vehicles such as the Centauro tank destroyer and the Dardo IFV , it produced less power than the most advanced contemporary western designs . The Ariete ' s engine had to run at a high RPM to perform well , thus reducing the operating time between failures . Moreover , to retain a good power to weight ratio , the total weight of the tank had to be kept below 60 tonnes . The relatively light weight of the Ariete helped lower consumption and facilitated the transport and mobility of the MBT ( especially over bridges ) . This was obtained partially at the expense of the thickness of the armour that , only partially compensated by the good ballistic shape of the vehicle , raised some doubt about its ability to survive in the harshest environments . As an improvement , Iveco developed a new version of the MTCA engine . The stroke was lengthened , increasing displacement to 30 litres , with a new common rail direct fuel injection system along a new double turbocharger , increasing power output to 1 , 600 hp at 1 , 800 rpm ( with an electronically reduced torque of 5 , 500 Nm , maintained from 1 , 100 to 1 , 800 rpm to reduce damage to the transmission ) and further reducing fuel consumption . The new engine will be adopted during the first general revision of the existing vehicles . As for the armour , Oto Melara developed two different sets ( with different thickness ) of adjunctive armour , shown for the first time at Eurosatory 2002 .