Ariete AMV

This page is about the Italian medium tank Ariete AMV. For other versions, see Ariete (Family).

Ariete AMV

Ariete AMV

Description

The C1 Ariete was developed by Consorzio Iveco OTO Melara (CIO) during the late Cold War to allow the Italian army to equip itself with a modern tank which could easily deal with Yugoslav and Warsaw Pact tanks. The AMV PT1 is a further development of the C1 Ariete, it being the first prototype of the AMV program which aims to upgrade several features to improve the tank and extend its life. The PT1 specifically features mobility improvements which allows the tank to be on par in terms of mobility with the rest of the top-tier MBTs.

Introduced in Update "Sky Guardians", the C1 Ariete AMV is one of the staple tanks of the Italian tech tree, that you can add to your lineup. As a tier 1 mod you get access to the CL3143 APFSDS round which will greatly help you when grinding the vehicle. It's a great MBT when used by players who can work around its weaknesses, keep in mind that unlike the previous Ariete you don't have access to the WAR add-on armour kit.

Fun fact: this MBT is the newest vehicle in the game, first shown in February 2022 during testing for the C1 Ariete upgrade

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, turret, internal plates)
• High-hardness rolled armour (hull UFP, turret front)
• Composite armour (turret front)
• Spaced armour (hull UFP, gun mantlet, turret sides)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	Spaced Armour Upper glacis 50 mm (50°) Lower glacis 35 mm (60°) Sponson front	10-20 mm Top 35 mm Bottom	20 mm	35 mm Crew compartment 20 mm Engine compartment 5 mm Exhaust radiators
Turret	Composite armour Turret front Spaced armour + 90 mm Gun mantlet	Spaced armour	20 mm + 10 mm	40 mm Front portion 20 mm Rear portion

Notes:

Mobility

Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and manoeuvrability, as well as the maximum speed forwards and backwards.

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade				2,032			__.__
Realistic				1,327			__.__

Armaments

Main armament

120 mm OTO Breda 120/44					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	42	-9°/+20°	±180°	Two-plane	38.1	52.7	64.0	70.8	75.3	7.80	6.90	6.36	6.00
Realistic					23.8	28.0	34.0	37.6	40.0

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
DM12A1	HEATFS	480	480	480	480	480	480
CL3143	APFSDS	589	586	577	565	553	541
DM53	APFSDS	623	620	610	598	586	573

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
DM12A1	HEATFS	1,140	13.5	0.05	0.1	2.15	65°	72°	77°
CL3143	APFSDS	1,705	5.6	-	-	-	78°	80°	81°
DM53	APFSDS	1,670	5	-	-	-	78°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Ariete AMV

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	Visual discrepancy
42	16 (+26)	1 (+41)	No

Machine guns

7.62 mm Beretta MG42/59
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	4,600 (200)	801	-	-

Usage in battles

The C1 Ariete AMV can be played in different roles. It can be played as a sniper due to its decent APFSDS rounds, good thermal and laser rangefinder, however you must not over expose yourself since the armour of the tank cannot withstand any hit from any top tier rounds, even some chemical projectile can penetrate the armour of the Ariete, even in the turret. Due to its improved mobility and very powerful round the Ariete fits perfectly in the "glass gun" role, flanking the enemy and hitting them from the side. However the Ariete cannot be used as a brawler since, as previously mentioned, its armour isn't great, and its rounds aren't protected by any kind of blowout panels which means that any penetrating rounds will result if a one shot.

To sum up, the Ariete is very good at long range and as a glass gun but you have to keep in mind that you can not rely on your armour at all.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• The CL3143 APFSDS round is a tier 1 modification
• Decent forward mobility, even better than previous Ariete due to mobility upgrade
• The commander has access to thermal sights, and both gunner and commander thermals are Gen 2 (higher resolution)
• Outstanding gun handling characteristics
• Quick and responsive reverse
• Fairly decent and reactive mobility at medium to high speeds
• Quick neutral steering
• DM53, combined with great thermals and a laser rangefinder make for an exceptionally deadly sniper
• Unlike other NATO MBTs, there is no ammo rack in the turret bustle: a penetration in the turret rarely destroys the tank in one shot

Cons:

• Mediocre overall armour protection even against chemical projectiles
• Unprotected ammo stowage
• Placement of crew members and first stage ammo rack make hits to the hull fatal
• The DM53 APFSDS round is a tier 4 modification
• Russian tanks, protected by explosive reactive armour, can at times directly withstand DM53
• Lacks roof-mounted machine gun from the previous C1 Arietes

History

The history of the C1 Ariete begins during the late stages of the Cold War, with a program born out of the need of the Italian army to modernize the fleet of tanks they had during the Cold War, which were the Leopards and M60s. Those tanks would be considered obsolete, considering the fact that many countries around the world who adopted such designs had either put them out of service or replaced them for something more modern. To make the new Italian MBT, Italy put Iveco and OTO Melara in charge. Iveco dealt with the hull, transmission, and engine, while OTO Melara took care of the turret, cannon, and the installation of optical sights. After many changes, and a couple of wooden mock-ups, the C1 Ariete (P), would first be shown to the public, at a presentation inside of La Spezia in 1987. Development kept on continuing towards the year of 1990, which allowed both Iveco and OTO Melara to refine the C1 Ariete's design. Deliveries were scheduled to first take place in 1993, however due to some setbacks (likely funding) it wouldn't be until 1995 that the first C1 Ariete production deliveries actually took place. At first an order of 300 tanks would be made, but due to the Cold War coming to an end, it was reduced to only 200 units, which would all finally be delivered on 7th August 2002.

The tank would feature a set of improvements from previous designs, for example the first C1 Ariete production models had access to the TURMS 3rd generation LTFCS made by Officine Galileo, which gave the capability to the Ariete to fire on the move, both during the day and at night. However later down the line, the last 50 Arietes would receive an upgrade of their sights, which resulted in many improvements, such as allowing the C1 Ariete commanders to have access to thermal imaging. In terms of armaments, the C1 Ariete (P) and C1 Ariete Production had access to a 120 mm smoothbore gun, made by OTO Melara, with similarities to the German made L44. The cannon would be suited to fire the majority of NATO standard munitions. Another improvement included better protection compared to the previous vehicles, it would be one of the more vital aspects of the Ariete. The tank would be delivered up until the early 2000s when the Ariete would begin to be the only official tank in service, while the Leopards and M60s would be fully phased out and put in storage.

Since then however, the Ariete has had quite the bumpy ride when it came to upgrading the machine; the Italian army was not against upgrading it, but there was a common issue that would plague the development: costs. The first proposed upgrade for the C1 Ariete would be what is known as the "C2 Ariete". After the tank had finished being designed, many nations at the time already had better vehicles in service, for example Germany would already have the Leopard 2A5. The C2 Ariete would have featured a lot of improvements, which included new updated armour, an autoloader, new engine, and also new updated FCS. However this never ended up happening and as such the C2 Ariete would remain only a proposal on paper. Another potential upgrade for the C1 Ariete, the C1 Ariete Hitfact Mk2, was likely not even considered by the Italian army but it would still feature a set of advancements that technically speaking would make it still a better machine than the production vehicles, such as the new cannon and optics. Also all Ariete's are equiped with a 7.62mm Beretta Mg 42/59 Machine gun.

AMV upgrade

The C1 Ariete AMV, standing for "Ammodernamento di Mezza Vita" (English: "Mid Life Update"), is likely to be the final upgrade to the C1 Ariete. This upgrade was conceptualised many years ago but it's only in recent times that progress has been seen with such a program. The AMV program will attempt to extend the life of the C1 Ariete up until 2030/2035, where by then it is presumed that a new design will take over. The 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 hull and turret, and finally the PT3 which will incorporate improvements to both the turret and hull whilst also likely being used to test hard-kill APS.

The improvements in the Ariete AMV PT1 are as follows: increase in power from 1,250 to 1,500 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 it's 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 litres 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 known as the DST 570 P0 (the current Arietes use the DST 840 E0). The DST 570 P0 is 20% wider than the previous tracks, it allows the tank to have a smaller footprint and makes it much easier to overcome soft terrain. Suspensions and shock absorbers have not been replaced, but only overhauled. Tests of the PT1 have been done at the "Centro Polifunzionale di Sperimentazione Mobile" (CEPOLISPE). The PT1 was also given the production WAR+PSO add-on armour kit, which all AMV prototypes have also received. In the future, once testing of all AMV prototypes has been concluded, they will all be brought to C2 Ariete standard.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Ariete AMV from live.warthunder.com.

See also

Related development

• Ariete
• Ariete PSO
• Ariete (P)

External links

• http://avioblog.it/sono-iniziati-nel-sito-delle-i-di-montelibretti-rm-i-test-del-primo-prototipo-dellm-b-t-ariete-amv/
• https://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/topic/546276-c1-ariete-amv-pt1/