Italy signs nearly $1 billion deal to upgrade Ariete tanks

ROME — Italy has signed a contract worth €848.8 million (U.S. $928.3 million) with a local consortium to upgrade its aging tanks as the country watches the war playing out in nearby Ukraine .

Italy signed the deal to upgrade 90 of its Ariete tanks with CIO, a joint venture between Italian firms Iveco and Oto Melara, with an option for another 35 upgraded platforms. The country has a fleet of 200 Ariete tanks, but only 50 are operational.

The deal, signed Aug. 2, has been in the works for months, but acquired new urgency as Italy seeks to beef up its tank capability. The upgrade work will include new 1,500-horsepower engines to replace the 1,300-horsepower versions, new mine protection kits and extra armor, refurbished turrets, a new fire control system, and software-defined radios.

Last month, Italy’s junior defense minister, Isabella Rauti, told Parliament that the country needs mor than 250 battle tanks to meet NATO requirements. The government intends to reach that target with the Ariete upgrades as well as the purchase of 133 new Leopard 2A8 combat tanks from German firm Krauss-Maffei Wegmann.

An Italian source familiar with the deal said Rome would require Italian industrial input on the Leopard tanks, meaning work share would include Italian firms.

As such, Italy was unlikely to finalize the Leopard deal this year, the source told Defense News, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media on the record.

Meanwhile, the mooted sale of whole or part of Oto Melara, which is currently owned by Italian state-controlled firm Leonardo, is no longer under discussion, the source added.

Rumors have swirled in recent months that a French or German buyer would purchase Oto Melara.

Separately, Rome has signed a €925 million contract with Leonardo and Italian shipyard Fincantieri for the purchase of three offshore patrol vessels, dubbed PPX, with options for three more.

The deal, signed with the two firms’ Orizzonte Sistemi Navali joint venture and announced July 31, envisages the production of 95-meter-long vessels displacing 2,300 tons and able to accommodate 97 crew members.

In a statement, the companies said the vessels would feature a so-called naval cockpit developed for the Italian Navy’s PPA vessels. Designed with help from naval aviators to resemble an aircraft’s cockpit, the bridge features just two navigators doing the work that eight navigators perform on Italy’s FREMM frigates.

The two contracts come as Italy releases its defense export figures for 2022, which totaled €5.23 billion in licenses — a 5% rise from 2021. The top destination for exports was Turkey, with a total value of €598 million, driven by deals to sell parts and logistics for Ankara’s fleet of Italian-designed T129 attack helicopters.

On Aug. 3, the Italian government tried to bring arms export approvals more directly under political control rather than under the purview of bureaucrats.

Under a bill approved by the government cabinet that day, which now goes to Parliament for a vote, an inter-ministerial committee would manage and monitor arms sales, rather than by a single department at the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.

罗马——意大利与一家当地财团签署了一份价值 8.488 亿欧元（9.283 亿美元）的合同，以升级其老旧的坦克。与此同时，意大利正密切关注着邻国乌克兰的战争局势。

意大利与意大利依维柯和奥托梅莱拉合资企业CIO签署协议，升级其90辆Ariete坦克，并可选择再升级35辆。意大利目前拥有200辆Ariete坦克，但只有50辆处于运行状态。

这项于8月2日签署的协议已酝酿数月，但随着意大利寻求提升其坦克作战能力，该协议的推进变得更加紧迫。升级工作将包括用1500马力的新型发动机替换现有的1300马力发动机，加装新的防雷装置和额外装甲，翻新炮塔，安装新的火控系统以及软件定义无线电。

上个月，意大利国防部副部长伊莎贝拉·劳蒂向议会表示，意大利需要超过250辆主战坦克才能满足北约的要求。政府计划通过对“阿里埃特”坦克进行升级改造，以及从德国克劳斯-玛菲·韦格曼公司采购133辆新型“豹2A8”主战坦克来实现这一目标。

一位熟悉这笔交易的意大利消息人士称，罗马方面将要求意大利工业界参与豹式坦克的研发，这意味着意大利公司将参与其中。

消息人士告诉《防务新闻》，因此，意大利今年不太可能完成豹式坦克的交易。该消息人士要求匿名，因为他没有被授权公开接受媒体采访。

消息人士补充说，与此同时，此前传闻的出售奥托梅拉拉公司（Oto Melara）全部或部分股份的计划，目前已不再讨论。奥托梅拉拉公司目前由意大利国有企业莱昂纳多（Leonardo）所有。

近几个月来一直有传言称，法国或德国买家将收购奥托梅拉拉。

另外，罗马方面与莱昂纳多公司和意大利芬坎蒂尼造船厂签署了一份价值 9.25 亿欧元的合同，购买三艘名为 PPX 的近海巡逻舰，并可选择再购买三艘。

该协议由两家公司通过其合资企业 Orizzonte Sistemi Navali 签署，并于 7 月 31 日宣布。协议设想建造 95 米长、排水量 2300 吨、可容纳 97 名船员的船舶。

两家公司在一份声明中表示，这些舰艇将配备专为意大利海军PPA舰艇开发的所谓“海军驾驶舱”。该驾驶舱的设计得到了海军飞行员的协助，旨在模仿飞机驾驶舱，仅配备两名导航员即可完成意大利FREMM护卫舰上八名导航员的工作。

这两份合同是在意大利公布其2022年国防出口数据之际签署的，该数据显示，意大利2022年的国防出口许可证总额为52.3亿欧元，比2021年增长了5%。出口的最大目的地是土耳其，总价值达5.98亿欧元，这主要得益于向安卡拉出售意大利设计的T129攻击直升机机队的零部件和后勤保障服务。

8月3日，意大利政府试图将武器出口审批置于政治控制之下，而不是置于官僚机构的管辖范围之内。

根据当天政府内阁批准的一项法案（该法案现在将提交议会投票表决），一个部际委员会将负责管理和监督武器销售，而不是由外交部的一个部门负责。

汤姆·金顿是《防务新闻》驻意大利记者。