Ariete 2

The Ariete C2, also referred to as Ariete 2, is the modernised standard of the Italian Army's C1 Ariete main battle tank. Under a contract signed in 2023 and worth EUR 848.8 million, 90 tanks are being rebuilt with a new powerplant, electric turret drives, new sights and additional armour, with an option for 35 more. As of 2026 the Italian inventory lists three C2 tanks in service and 87 on order, alongside 110 C1.

The C1 Ariete was developed by the Consorzio Iveco Oto Melara, with Iveco responsible for the chassis and engine and OTO Melara for the turret and fire control. Six prototypes had been built by 1988, deliveries began in 1994 and the 200th and final tank was handed over in August 2002. It is armed with a 120 mm OTO Breda smoothbore gun with 42 rounds and powered by a 25.8-litre Fiat-Iveco MTCA V12 turbo-diesel of 937 kW (1,257 hp), giving a top speed of 65 km/h at a weight kept below 60 tonnes. The engine ran at high revolutions, shortening its time between failures, and armour thickness had been traded for weight; a 1,200 kW (1,600 hp) common-rail engine developed by Iveco was never adopted for technical and financial reasons.

In the early 2000s the Army planned a "C2 Ariete" or "Mk 2", first for 300 tanks and then for 200, but the project was cancelled for budgetary reasons and the improvements deferred to later revisions. The 2023 contract revived the modernisation under the C2 designation for 90 vehicles, with the option bringing the potential total to 125.

The C2 receives a new 30.1-litre Iveco Vector 12 engine of 1,500 hp (1,100 kW) and 5,800 N·m, which shares components with the Vector 8V of the Centauro 2, an updated LSG-3000 transmission and widened tracks. The turret adopts electric drives in place of hydraulic ones and a new ballistic computer, drawing largely on Centauro 2 components. The commander gets the Leonardo ATTILA-D multispectral panoramic sight and the gunner the Leonardo LOTHAR-SD sight. Protection is improved with a new mine protection kit, two armour packages (PSO light, adding side protection against rocket-propelled grenades, and PSO plus) and an upgraded fire-suppression system. Communications move to Leonardo equipment, with a VQ-1 software-defined radio, a Larimart intercom and the C2N Evo command system, and a pintle mount for an M2 Browning machine gun is added for use against drones. Smaller changes concern the fuel tank, bilge pump, heating and NBC protection.