C1 Ariete is a main battle tank developed for the Italian Army by the Iveco Fiat Oto Melara Syndicated Company, formed by Iveco SpA, Defence Vehicles Division and the Oto Melara Division of Finmeccanica.

In February 1997 some units of the Italian Army  received the first Ariete 1 tanks , the new "all Italian" second generation MBT, which will replace, within a couple of years, the older Leopard 1A2 as standard armoured fighting vehicle of the Italian Army. The final delivery of the 200 tanks ordered took place in August 2002. Ariete was first deployed in Iraq in 2004.
 

The Ariete is powered by a Fiat V-12 MTCA turbo-charged, 12 cylinder, diesel engine producing 937kW. The automatic transmission system, licensed from the German company ZF, has four forward and two reverse gears, and incorporates the steering system and hydraulic retarder. The Ariete is capable of a maximum speed in excess of 65km/h and the maximum gradient is 60%.

The tank's fire control system, produced by Galileo Avionica of  Italy, is the TURMS FCS. It includes a day and night stabilised commander's panoramic periscope sight, gunner's sight with thermal imager and laser rangefinder and digital fire control computer.