The Centauro II is an advanced wheeled armored vehicle designed and manufactured by the Italian company Iveco Defense Vehicles. It is equipped with a 120mm main gun and has a high level of mobility, making it suitable for various combat scenarios.
To get the most accurate and up-to-date information about the serial production and presentation of the Centauro II 120mm MGS by the Italian Army, I recommend checking official sources such as the Italian Ministry of Defense, Italian Army announcements, defense industry publications, or reputable news outlets for the latest information and videos related to this development.
On January 8, 2021, the Italian Consortium Iveco – Oto Melara (CIO) has confirmed the launching of the production for the Centauro II 8×8 Mobile Gun System (MGS) for the Italian Army. A total of 150 Centauro 2 will be ordered by the Italian army, and the first vehicles were delivered in 2021. The Centauro 2 has many new improvements compared to the previous version of the Centauro 1 in terms of firepower, mobility, and protection.
With the Centauro 2 MGS, the Italian Defense industry has developed an 8×8 armored vehicle offering the same capabilities as the main battle tank but with a weight of 30,000 kg, much lighter than a tank that weighs 50 to 60 tons. It can more easily be transported by military transport aircraft and quickly deployed to provide support for rapid reaction forces.
The Centauro 2 maintains the general layout of the Centauro 1 but with a new design of protection. The hull and the turret offers increased protection against ballistic and mine threats with a completely rearranged hull chassis and turret design, integratable add-on ballistics, and technical solutions tested to the AEP 55 standard, capable of handling threats such as mines, IEDs, and the latest-generation kinetic munitions.
The Centauro 2 has a crew of four, with the driver is seated at the front of the hull offset to the left with the power pack to his right. The turret, equipped with new anti-mine seats, has a crew of three men – commander, gunner and loader – with the latter able to use the new automatic loading system, while being able also to undertake manual loading operations, as back-up, or other emergency operations.
The Centauro 2 MGS is armed with a third-generation 120/45 mm gun (optional 105/52mm interchangeable to 120 mm), with integrated and stabilized low-recoil muzzle brake, provides the same firepower as most modern main battle tanks, with the capability of firing all latest generation 120 mm NATO APFSDS and multi-role MP munitions. The second armament includes one 7.62mm coaxial machine gun is mounted to the left side of the main armament and a remote-operated HITROLE Light turret armed with a 12.7mm heavy machine mounted on the roof of the turret.
In terms of mobility, the Centauro 2 is motorized with an Iveco Vector 8V Euro III-compliant engine developing 720hp coupled to an automatic gearbox with seven forward and one reverse gear. The vehicle can run at a maximum road speed of 105 km/h with a maximum road range of 800 km.
