Italian army starts trials of upgraded C1 Ariete AMV MBT Main Battle Tank

According to a Tweet published by Ciro Nappi on January 31, 2022, the Italian army has started the trials of upgraded C1 Ariete AMV (Aggiornamento Mezza Vita) Main Battle Tank (MBT). The AMV program will attempt to extend the life of the C1 Ariete up until 2030/2035, whereby then it is presumed that a new design will take over.
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The upgraded C1 Ariete AMV Main Battle Tank for the Italian army will be fitted with a new engine and optronics. (Picture source Twiter account Ciro Nappi)

Citing information from the "War Thunder" forum, the C1 Ariete AMV program will feature 3 prototypes at first, the AMV PT1, which will feature improvements to the hull, the PT2 which will feature improvements to the turret, and finally the PT3 which will incorporate improvements to both the turret and hull.

The improvements in the PT1 are as follows; increase in power from 1250 to 1500 horsepower, sadly this was not obtained with the installation of a new engine, but instead with the application of an upgrade kit on the current engines that the C1 Ariete utilize, which were completely disassembled and rebuilt with the constitution of numerous new elements, most of which derive from the V8 of the B2 Centauro II. One of the other ways its better protected is thanks to the installation of the Anti-IED/Mine kit. The crankcase is also the same, but the displacement has been increased from 26 to 30 liters, by changing cylinders, pistons and crankshaft, increasing the stroke of the cylinders. In order to better receive and manage the greater power offered by the improved engine, called V12AMV for now, changes would also be made on the automatic gearbox produced under license from the German ZF, this provided the necessary calculations for the changes necessary to receive the greatest torque and its distribution.

Among that, the PT1 will feature improvements to the breaking system, the adoption of a new track (for now it's presumed to be the DST 570 P0, the current C1 Ariete use the DST 840 E0) which is 20% wider than the previous one, it allows the tank to have a smaller footprint and makes it much easier to overcome soft soils. Suspensions and shock absorbers have not been replaced, but only overhauled. Much more improvements will be added to the C1 Ariete AMV but for PT1 they're irrelevant, due to the PT1 only receiving the improvements to the hull.

According to information published on the Twitter account of Ciro Nappi, the C1 Ariete AMB (MBT) will be equipped with Leonardo optronics also mounted on the Centauro 2 MGS (Mobile Gun System).

The C1 Ariete is a Main Battle Tank (MBT) jointly developed by the Italian companies Oto Melara and IVECO based on Italian army requirements. The first prototype of the Ariete was completed in 1986 and by 1988 all six prototypes had been completed and trials by the Italian Army and the manufacturer were well underway. The first production Ariete MBT was delivered late in 1995 and the final production vehicles were delivered to the Italian Army in 2002.

The C1 Ariete has a conventional design for a modern MBT with the driver's compartment front right, the turret in the center, and the powerpack at the rear. The tank has a crew of four with a driver, commander, gunner, and loader. The C1 Ariete has a combat weight of 54,000 kg.

The main armament of the C1 Ariete consists of one Oto Melara 120 mm 44 caliber smoothbore gun fitted with a muzzle reference system, thermal sleeve, and fume extractor. The second armament of the tank includes one 7.62mm coaxial machine gun, mounted to the left of the main armament, and one 7.62mm machine gun mounted on the turret roof. A bank of four 80 mm electrically operated, forward-firing smoke grenade dischargers, is mounted on each side of the turret firing towards the front.

The original C1 Ariete is motorized with an IVECO V-12 MTCA, turbocharged, intercooled, 12-cylinder diesel engine developing 1,300 hp at 2,300 rpm coupled to a Renk LSG 3000 automatic transmission with 4 forward and 2 reverse gears. The tank can reach a maximum road speed of 65 km/h with a cruising range of over 550 km.

Italian army C1 Ariete MBT Main Battle Tank (Picture source Army Recognition)