Italian Ministry of Defense orders 40 Centauro II 120mm 8x8 anti-tank armored vehicles.

According to news published by the Defense Aerospace website on June 2, 2020, the Italian Ministry of Defense (MoD) has approved the production and order of 40 Centauro II, an 8x8 120mm anti-tank armored vehicle designed and produced by the Iveco-Oto Melara Consortium (CIO).
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Centauro II 120mm 8x8 anti-tank armored vehicle at Eurosatory defense exhibition in France, June 2016. (Picture source Army Recognition)

The Centauro II is a modernized version of the Centauro 1 8x8 anti-tank wheeled armoured vehicle armed with one 120mm gun instead of the 105mm cannon mounted of the previous version of the Centauro.

The Centauro 2 was presented for the first time to the public during the defense exhibition Eurosatory in June 2016. it is the first 8x8 wheeled anti-tank vehicle in the world with a high-pressure gun. The Centauro II represents the logical evolution, being armed with a third-generation 120/45 mm gun, with integrated muzzle brake and semi-automatic loading system. The weapon system provides firepower equivalent to that of most modern main battle tanks and is capable of firing all latest generation 120 mm, NATO APFSDS, and multi-role MP munitions.

The Centauro II offers more protection and integrates a monocoque steel hull. The hull and the turret were redesigned with new add-on ballistic protection systems and armor solutions to increase protection against latest-generation kinetic munitions. Crew safety has also been further increased, with a partitioning of stand-by ammunition and stores within the hull, in addition to the state-of-the-art NBC, fire-fighting and anti-explosion systems. It has a crew of four including the driver, commander, gunner and a loader.

The main armament of the Centauro II consists of one 120mm 45mm caliber gun with integrated muzzle brake and semi-automatic loading system. It can fire all latest generation 120mm of NATO ammunition including armor-piercing, fin-stabilized , discarding-sabot (APFSDS) and multi-purpose (MP) rounds.

A 7.62mm coaxial machine gun is mounted to the left side of the main armament. Mounted either side of the turret is a bank of four electrically operated 81 mm smoke grenade dischargers that fire over the frontal arc of the vehicle. It can also be fitted with a remote-operated HITROLE Light turret armed with a 12.7mm heavy machine gun with the possibility of using 7.62 or 40 mm automatic grenade launcher, integrated with the firing system, allowing the loader to undertake battlefield surveillance from a protected position.