According to a Tweet published by “Ciro Nappi” on March 6, 2023, the Italian army has shown interest to acquire 70 Leopard 2A7 Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) and 100 CV90 Mk IV tracked armored IFVs (Infantry Fighting Vehicles) to equip the Ariete armored brigade.
The 132nd Armored Brigade “Ariete” is currently the only active armored brigade of the Italian Army. Its core units are tank and Bersaglieri infantry regiments.
The decision by the Italian army to acquire these Leopard 2A7 tanks and these CV90s could be taken pending the joint development of a new combat tank, as well as an infantry combat vehicle.
This makes it clearer that the decision is conditional on the joint development of both a new combat tank and an infantry combat vehicle.
Currently, the Italian armed forces have a total of 200 Ariete C1 Main Battle Tanks (MBTs), 259 B1 Centauro 8×8 fire support vehicles, 200 VCC-80 Dardo tracked armored IFVs (Infantry Fighting Vehicles), and 258 VBM 8×8 Freccia 8×8 armored infantry fighting vehicle.