OTOBREDA/IVECO Fiat C-l Ariete The C-l Ariete (Ram) MET has been developed by OTOBREDA with the assistance of IVECO to meet a 1982 Italian Army specification for a long term replacement for the obsolete M47 Patton tanks used by the Italian Army. An order for a production batch of 200 Mk 1 vehicles was placed in 1992 for delivery from 1996 onwards. The vehicle uses special composite armour in the construction of its hull and turret giving the latter the typical slab sided appearance of modem MBTs. The main armament is an OTOBKEDA designed and built 120 mm L44 smoothbore gun with thermal sleeve, fume extractor and
Muzzle Reference System firing Italian made NATO standard equivalent APFSDS-T and HEAT-MP-T smoothbore ammunition. The fire control system is the latest generation computerised full solution modular Officine Galileo TURMS model which, together with gunner's and commander's optical day/thermal vision night sight assemblies and laser rangefinder module, allows high single shot kill probability engagements against both moving and stationary, targets whilst the Ariete itself is either moving or stationary. If the primary fire control system fails completely then the gunner
Italy can use a manual back-up periscopic sight with a set of aiming graticules. To complete the night fighting capabilities of the vehicle the driver has facilities for a passive night driving periscope to be fitted. Designing the Mk 2 Ariete is well underway. Under present plans, 500 Mk 2 Arietes will follow the Mk 1 on the production lines. These will have enhanced serviceability features, a 1500 hp engine, hydro-pneumatic suspension, an automatic loader and a more advanced fire-control system.
