B1 Centauro

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Centauro
An Italian Army Centauro during a patrol in Bosnia-Herzegovina as part of IFOR during 1996
Type	Wheeled tank destroyer
Place of origin	Italy
Service history
In service	1991–present
Used by	See Operators below
Wars	United Nations Operation in Somalia II Iraq War UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon)
Production history
Designed	1986
Manufacturer	Iveco Fiat (hull, propulsion) Oto Melara (weapons, turrets)
Unit cost	€1.6 million [citation needed]
Produced	1991–2006 (Centauro) 2021–present (Centauro II)
No. built	490+[1] (plus 249 Freccia)[2]
Variants	See Variants
Specifications
Mass	24 t (24 long tons; 26 short tons)
Length	7.85 m (25 ft 9 in)
Width	2.94 m (9 ft 8 in)
Height	2.73 m (8 ft 11 in)
Crew	4 (commander, gunner, loader and driver)
Armor	Welded steel armoured hull
Main armament	Oto Melara 105 mm/52 rifled gun (Centauro) Oto Melara 120mm /45 smoothbore gun (Centauro II)
Secondary armament	2×7.62 mm MGs
Engine	IVECO, V6 turbo-Diesel 520 hp (382 kW)
Power/weight	19.35 hp/tonne
Payload capacity	350 kg (770 lb)
Transmission	Hydropneumatic automatic transmission with 5 forward and 2 reverse gears 8x8 wheels
Suspension	independent MacPherson struts
Operational range	800 km (500 mi)
Maximum speed	108 km/h (67 mph)

The Centauro is a family of Italian military vehicles originating from a wheeled tank destroyer for light to medium territorial defense and tactical reconnaissance. It was developed by a consortium of manufacturers, the Società Consortile Iveco Fiat - OTO Melara (CIO). Iveco Fiat was tasked with developing the hull and propulsion systems while Oto Melara was responsible for developing the turrets and weapon systems.^[3]

Over the years, the Centauro platform has been developed into multiple variants to fulfill other combat roles, such as infantry fighting vehicle or self-propelled howitzer.