Ariete PSO

This page is about the Italian medium tank Ariete PSO. For other versions, see Ariete (Family).

Ariete PSO

Ariete (P)

Ariete

Ariete PSO

Ariete (P)

Ariete

Italy

VII Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
11.7	11.7	11.7

Class:

Medium tank

Research:350 000

Purchase:950 000

Show in game

Description

The C1 Ariete PSO is a rank VII Italian medium tank with a battle rating of 11.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.91 "Night Vision".

General info

Survivability and armour

Composite armour

Balanced protection against all types of ammunition

Smoke grenades

Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle

LWS

Notifies about the vehicle's exposure to laser emissions

Armourfront / side / back

Hull110 / 65 / 20

Turret140 / 60 / 20

Crew4 people

Visibility88 %

The Ariete PSO's armour can withstand some 105mm APFSDS shells, though the turret can resist some high ranking HEAT-FS shells as well. Though the composite side skirts does not provide much protection against kinetic shells, it does affect HEAT-FS shells in that even if one penetrates, the penetrating projectile does not travel as far into the tank and so reduces the overall damage to the tank (outside of direct hits to the ammunition racks).

A common weak point on the Ariete PSO from the front is the gun mantlet, as some shots may go through the armour and damage the gun breech and/or the crew. When dealing with a shell that can penetrate, the Ariete PSO's left side (right when facing directly at the Ariete) has three ammo racks lined up with each other, and so a frontal penetration at that side of the Ariete has a high chance of detonating these rack, or a shot at the Ariete's left side.

Under normal circumstance however, the Ariete PSO's four crew members make it a relatively survivable tank to drive, as the common knock-out of the gunner and commander with a penetration through the turret will leave just two (loader and driver), allowing the Ariete PSO to withdraw and continue fighting at the expense of a longer reload time.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB73 / 52 km/h

RB and SB65 / 47 km/h

Number of gears8 forward

4 back

Weight57.0 t

Engine power

AB2 480 hp

RB and SB1 300 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB43.5 hp/t

RB and SB22.8 hp/t

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)		Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse	Stock	AoA	Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	73	52	56.2	0.8	1,761	2,480	31.33	43.51
Realistic	65	47			1,150	1,300	20.46	22.81

The top speed is similar to other tanks, but the acceleration is bad so take this into consideration with tactical mobility. While the Ariete can't turn well at low speeds, it does have a good neutral turning speed on the spot.

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB4 193 → 6 851

RB4 097 → 6 694

SB5 183 → 8 469

Total cost of modifications278 800

455 000

Talisman cost3 000

Crew training270 000

Experts950 000

Aces2 200

Research Aces1 210 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

150 / 190 / 210 %

244 / 244 / 244 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 360 Suspension Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 260 Brake System Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 260 Filters Research: 19 000 Cost: 29 000 450 Transmission Research: 19 000 Cost: 29 000 450 Engine Research: 19 000 Cost: 29 000 450	Improved Parts Research: 4 500 Cost: 23 000 360 Improved FPE Research: 3 300 Cost: 17 000 260 Crew Replenishment Research: 19 000 Cost: 29 000 450 PSO Tipo 2 Research: 19 000 Cost: 29 000 450	Horizontal Drive Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 360 120mm_NATO_APDS_FS_ammo_pack Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 360 Adjustment of Fire Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 260 LWS/LR Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 260 Smoke grenade Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 260 Elevation Mechanism Research: 19 000 Cost: 29 000 450 NVD Research: 19 000 Cost: 29 000 450 Artillery Support Research: 19 000 Cost: 29 000 450 120mm_DM_APDS_FS_ammo_pack Research: 19 000 Cost: 29 000 450

Armaments

Laser rangefinder

Reduces the error and increases the maximum measurable distance of the rangefinder

Night vision device

Improves visibility by enhancing natural light or active illumination.

Thermal imager

Allows to see thermal radiation in the infrared range day and night

Main armament

120 mm OTO Breda 120/44 cannon

Two-plane stabilizer

Reduces the swing of the gun in two planes while moving

Ammunition42 rounds

First-order15 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

6.5 → 5.0 s

Vertical guidance-9° / 20°

The armament of the Ariete PSO is one of the greatest in the game, with a large amount of penetration in every armour-piercing shell. Their performance lines-up with other 120 mm guns in other tanks like the Leopard, and so it should be able to deal with the majority of the top-ranking vehicles with consideration of armour weak points and vulnerabilities.

While the Ariete starts off like most other high BR vehicles with HEAT-FS, that challenge is easily overcome once you get the 1st round which is DM33, a tier 1 modification which brings its firepower equivalent to the Leopard 2A5 and Type 90. As for a tier 4 modification you get access to the CL3143 APFSDS, which is the second most powerful round in the game currently that will be able to dispatch your enemies with ease.

120 mm OTO Breda 120/44					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	42	-10°/+20°	±180°	Two-plane	38.1	52.7	64.0	70.8	75.3	7.80	6.90	6.36	6.00
Realistic					23.8	28.0	34.0	37.6	40.0

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
DM12A1	HEATFS	480	480	480	480	480	480
DM33	APFSDS	481	478	470	461	450	440
CL3143	APFSDS	625	622	613	601	588	575

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
DM12A1	HEATFS	1,140	13.5	0.05	0.1	2,150	65°	72°	77°
DM33	APFSDS	1,640	4.3	N/A	N/A	N/A	78°	80°	81°
CL3143	APFSDS	1,705	5.6	N/A	N/A	N/A	78°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Ariete PSO

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	Visual discrepancy
42	16 (+26)	1 (+41)	No

Machine guns

7.62 mm Beretta MG42/59 machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition4 600 rounds

Belt capacity200 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate801 shots/min

2 x 7.62 mm Beretta MG42/59 machine gun

Ammunition4 000 rounds

Belt capacity200 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate801 shots/min

7.62 mm Beretta MG42/59
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	4,500 (200)	1,200	±5°	N/A
Commander's cupola	2,000 (200)	1,200	-8°/+60°	±120°
Loader's cupola	2,000 (200)	1,200	-8°/+60°	±120°

Usage in battles

The Ariete won't win any races with its mobility but it has the firepower to back it up. The Ariete can sit back and use its powerful APFSDS to take care of enemies at range to make up for its rather lacklustre armour for a top BR vehicle. The Ariete you can also play it aggressive but be warned! The Ariete doesn't have any composite armour on the front of the hull, only spaced armour on the upper plate. When playing aggressive you need to rely on fast reflexes otherwise there is a good chance that the 1st hit from a enemy will cripple you or knock you out of battle.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Powerful OTO Breda 120/44 cannon
• Currently shares the second best APFSDS round with the regular Ariete
• Turret armour gives crew good survivability, especially against nearly all HEAT-FS thanks to the PSO armour pack
• Unlike other NATO MBT’s, there is no ammorack in the turret, reducing the chances of an instant knockout if the turret is penetrated
• Fast turret traverse
• Second generation CITV and gunner’s sights
• High reverse speed
• Another additional roof mounted Beretta MG42 to ward of enemy helicopters

Cons:

• Mobility is subpar, only the Challenger 2 and ZTZ99 are less mobile
• Large lower glacis
• Least armoured MBT in the game
• PSO Tipo 2 doesn’t really offer any substantial differences or advantages over the regular PSO armour pack
• Russian tanks with Kontakt-5 armour are capable of stopping CL3143 in certain places and will need careful aiming
• Huge ammorack next to the driver
• Narrow FOV and low levels of zoom for the gunner's sight

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

The Shooting Range #176 - Metal Beasts section at 00:32 discusses the Ariete PSO.

See also

• Ariete (Family)
• Ariete (P)
• Ariete

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the tank;
• other literature.