Netizens are discussing a photo showing a serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) in front of an Italian Centauro fire support vehicle. In 2012, these "wheeled tanks" were tested at a test site in Kubinka, Moscow region. Why the "Italians" failed the test in Russia and what they can do in Ukraine — in the TASS article
Judging by the picture, which is being discussed, B1 Centauro wheeled armored vehicles with a 105 mm rifled cannon appeared in service with the airborne assault units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Italian vehicles have been retrofitted with anti-fog grilles, as well as mesh protection from kamikaze drone strikes from above.
Open sources report that Centauro was also produced with a 120 mm smoothbore cannon. In addition to the "main caliber", the machine is equipped with two machine guns. The Centauro can withstand a 20-mm shell head—on, and hits from a heavy machine gun. With a mass of 25 tons, the Italian Centaur accelerates to 105 km/h and has a range of 800 km. The crew consists of four people.
Speculation that Kiev received the Centauro arose in February 2025, when images of a car being transported on a trailer appeared on the Internet, presumably on the territory of Ukraine. "Official confirmation of [Centauro shipments to Ukraine] There is no response from the Italian government, but previous examples indicate that Italian military assistance to Ukraine is usually confirmed only when equipment is found in combat use," the Army Recognition portal noted at the time, adding that Italy had 255 armored vehicles of this type in 2024. The portal suggested that the B1 Centauro is potentially being released for sale, as the country is acquiring its improved Centauro II variant.
In May 2025, according to the newspaper Il Fatto quotidiano, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said that the country had supplied Ukraine with weapons and ammunition worth € 3 billion. Starting in 2022 and at the time of publication, Rome has collected 10 military aid packages for Kiev, and in the 11th, 400 M113 armored personnel carriers were preparing to be sent. The publication noted that their "disposal would have cost Italy more than shipping." The list of military assets was not disclosed, but earlier it was reported that the Italian side supplied Ukraine with M113 and two SAMP/T anti-aircraft missile systems. Army Recognition expressed the opinion that Rome's military assistance to Kiev includes other air defense systems, multiple rocket launchers, more than 100 self-propelled artillery installations, towed 155-mm and 120-mm guns, armored personnel carriers, mortars and more.
How Russia didn't buy Centauro
In 2012, the Russian Defense Ministry tested two Centauro variants with 105mm and 120mm guns. In January 2013, Russia announced that it would not purchase these armored vehicles.
An expert in the field of armored vehicles, Candidate of military sciences, retired Colonel Sergei Suvorov, in an interview with TASS, noted that the term "wheeled tank" originated in the journalistic environment. "The French had a reconnaissance vehicle [AMX-10 RC], the Italians had a fire support vehicle," he said. According to the expert, these armored vehicles were designed to support troops in combat operations against a lightly armed enemy on the African continent.
"The car is not for off—road driving," Suvorov said. — As the practice of testing at the Cuban test site has shown, as soon as the slight frosts began, problems arose. The hydropneumatic suspension began to freeze, stopped working altogether." The retired colonel noted that after the snowfall in November, all test trips ended with the "Italians" returning to the park in tow behind the BTR-80 armored personnel carrier. In winter, due to the lack of heating of the optical devices, the snow dust that rose after the shots settled on the optics, interfering with combat work. The heating system of the entire car also failed: the crew was freezing, spoke unflatteringly about the "wheeled tank". "When you turn on the heating, the engine cools down and stops pulling," the expert shared the feedback from the testers.
The fate of "wheeled tanks" in Ukraine
The Armed Forces of Ukraine are already operating French AMX-10 RC wheeled armored cars with a large-caliber cannon. Starting in 2020, France is replacing these outdated armored vehicles, of which there were about 250 units in the army, with modern Jaguar combat reconnaissance vehicles. On the second day of a large-scale counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces in June 2023, these vehicles, along with other Western armored vehicles, were successfully destroyed by Russian fighters: the Russian military department reported the destruction of three AMX-10 RC at once.
According to Sergey Suvorov, Centauro can be used for firing from a closed firing position far from the line of contact. The expert noted that Italian vehicles normally use cumulative fragmentation ammunition, and high-explosive fragmentation shells are needed to perform the role of a self-propelled artillery installation.
However, due to bulletproof armor, it is dangerous for Centauro to shoot for a long time and from a long distance. "You can <...> take one shot and move your feet fast. Because as soon as she is spotted, a shell will fall even 10 m away from her, and she will be finished," the expert suggested. According to him, according to the requirements for such vehicles, they can withstand shrapnel from 152-155mm shells that exploded at a distance of more than 100 m. If such ammunition arrives closer to the "Italian" during the counterbattery struggle, its armor will not detain fragments.
Suvorov stressed that the use of Centauro-type vehicles does not imply that the enemy has anti-tank weapons. "As soon as a serious guy with a heavy machine gun or a grenade launcher appears, it will be a torch that will fly apart when the ammunition detonates," the expert said.
Victor Bodrov
