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The Dardo is an
infantry fighting vehicle An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct-fire support. The 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed F ...
designed for the
Italian Army "The safeguard of the republic shall be the supreme law" , colors = , colors_labels = , march = ''Parata d'Eroi'' ("Heroes's parade") by Francesco Pellegrino, ''4 Maggio'' (May 4) ...
as a replacement for the M113 APC. It is designed and built by the Iveco Fiat Oto Melara Syndicated Company based in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
.
Iveco IVECO, an acronym for Industrial Vehicles Corporation, is an Italian multinational transport vehicle manufacturing company. It designs and builds light, medium, and heavy commercial vehicles. The name IVECO first appeared in 1975 after a merger ...
is responsible for the hull and propulsion systems, while
Oto Melara OTO Melara was a subsidiary of the Italian company Finmeccanica, today Leonardo, active in the defence sector, with factories in Brescia and La Spezia. The Mod 56 pack howitzer, in service throughout the world, and the 76mm naval gun, ad ...
is responsible for the weapons and fire control systems.


Description


Armament

The Dardo is primarily armed with the 25mm
Oerlikon KBA The Oerlikon KBA is a 25 mm (25×137mm) autocannon, developed as a close range multipurpose weapon for the mechanised battlefield, originally made by Oerlikon (now Rheinmetall AG) and currently produced in Rheinmetall Italia S.p.A. facilities. I ...
automatic cannon firing 600 rounds per minute, with 200 rounds of ready to fire ammunition stored in the turret. Two 7.62mm NATO machine guns are also installed in the turret, one coaxially mounted with the main gun. Five rifle ports, two on each side of the hull and one in the rear are provided to allow troops inside to use their personal weapons, if needed. Fire control is provided by the Galileo Avionica
Hitfist Oto Melara Hitfist is a two-man turret, for armored vehicles, developed by the Italian Oto Melara. The turrets are designed to mount a 25mm Oerlikon KBA or 30/40mm ATK Mk44 Bushmaster II autocannon. The main armament may mount a co-axial machin ...
integrated fire control system, which is capable of measuring target speed and range. The commander is provided with six episcope sights, which provide 360° field of view. The cupola can be further fitted with a panoramic stabilised sight. Additionally, a laser range finder and a thermal imager are provided for the gunner. The commander is equipped with a monitor that displays the view from the gunner night vision system. For dealing with heavy armoured threats, two
BGM-71 TOW The BGM-71 TOW ("Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided") is an American anti-tank missile. TOW replaced much smaller missiles like the SS.10 and ENTAC, offering roughly twice the effective range, a more powerful warhead, and a greatly ...
anti tank missiles can be installed, one on each side of the turret. These missiles have a maximum range of approximately 4 km.


Self protection

The Dardo hull is built from welded aluminum alloy with add on steel armour plates for increased protection. Over the frontal arc, the vehicle is protected against 25mm APDS projectiles. The side armour protects against 14.5mm API projectiles. Four 80mm smoke grenade launchers are installed on each side of the turret.


Propulsion

The Dardo is powered by an Iveco V6 turbo-charged after-cooled diesel engine delivering 512 hp (382.2 kW). This drives a ZF-designed automatic transmission system, which is manufactured under license by Iveco Fiat. The transmission system has four forward and two reverse gears, and incorporates the steering system and the hydraulic retarder. The running gear consists of six dual rubber-lined road wheels, with three return rollers on each side and connector type tracks. The suspension consists of a torsion bar, bumper and a hydraulic shock absorber on each suspension arm. Disc brakes on each of the final drives controlled by a transmission retarder provide the braking. Together, this allows the Dardo to achieve speeds in excess of 70 km/h, maneuver on gradients of more than 60% and ford waters up to a depth of 1.5 m.


Future variants

The Dardo IFVs currently in service with the Italian Army are fitted with the "
Hitfist Oto Melara Hitfist is a two-man turret, for armored vehicles, developed by the Italian Oto Melara. The turrets are designed to mount a 25mm Oerlikon KBA or 30/40mm ATK Mk44 Bushmaster II autocannon. The main armament may mount a co-axial machin ...
" IFV turret. The chassis is intended to be the basic model of a family of vehicles, which may include a 120 mm mortar carrier, command (C3I) vehicle, ambulance and light tank with a 105mm gun turret.


Combat history

Dardo IFVs were deployed with the Italian Army as part of the Italian contribution to
Operation Iraqi Freedom {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
in 2004. 10 were also deployed in Afghanistan to reinforce the Italian Battlegroups there. Also, some are in use with the Italian
UNIFIL The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon ( ar, قوة الأمم المتحدة المؤقتة في لبنان, he, כוח האו"ם הזמני בלבנון), or UNIFIL ( ar, يونيفيل, he, יוניפי״ל), is a UN peacekeeping m ...
contingent.


Operators

* {{ITA – 200 vehicles ** 1st Bersaglieri Regiment, ''Garibaldi'' Bersaglieri Brigade ** 8th Bersaglieri Regiment, ''Garibaldi'' Bersaglieri Brigade **
11th Bersaglieri Regiment The 11th Bersaglieri Regiment ( it, 11° Reggimento Bersaglieri) is an active unit of the Italian Army based in Orcenico Superiore in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. The regiment is part of the army's infantry corps' Bersaglieri speciality and ...
, ''Ariete'' Armored Brigade


See also

*
ASCOD The ASCOD (Austrian Spanish Cooperation Development) armoured fighting vehicle family is the product of a cooperation agreement between Austrian Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG and Spanish General Dynamics Santa Bárbara Sistemas ( both companies are no ...
* Bionix *
BMP-3 The BMP-3 is a Soviet and Russian infantry fighting vehicle, successor to the BMP-1 and BMP-2. The abbreviation BMP stands for ''boevaya mashina pehoty'' (, literally "infantry combat vehicle"). Production history The design of the BMP-3 ('' ...
*
CV-90 The Combat Vehicle 90 (CV90; Sw. ''Stridsfordon'' 90, Strf90) is a family of Swedish tracked combat vehicles designed by Sweden's Defence Materiel Administration (''Försvarets Materielverk'', FMV), Hägglunds and Bofors during the mid-1980s to e ...
* K21 *
M2 Bradley The M2 Bradley, or Bradley IFV, is an American infantry fighting vehicle that is a member of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle family. It is manufactured by BAE Systems Land & Armaments, which was formerly United Defense. The Bradley is designed ...
*
Puma (IFV) The Puma is a German infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) ( or short ''SPz'') designed to replace the aging Marder IFVs currently in service with the German Army. Production of the first batch of 350 vehicles began in 2010 and was completed in Augu ...
*
Mitsubishi Type 89 IFV The (89 FV ) is a Japanese infantry fighting vehicle that entered service with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force in 1989. There were 58 vehicles in service and a total of 120 produced by 2014 with 300 planned. The main armament of the vehicle ...
*
Tulpar (IFV) Tulpar is a Turkish heavy infantry fighting vehicle designed by the Sakarya-based automotive manufacturer Otokar. It is named after the Tulpar, a winged horse in Turkic mythology. The vehicle has been designed to augment Turkey's new-generation ...
*
Abhay IFV Abhay (Sanskrit: अभय, ''"Fearless"'') is an Infantry Combat Vehicle (ICV) being developed in India by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Abhay is being developed as a technology demonstrator for replacing Indian Ar ...
*
Makran IFV The Makran IFV, an Iranian armoured personnel carrier (APC), is the highly modernized and upsized copy of the BTR-50 APC. The vehicle is produced and designed by the Research and Self-Sufficiency Jihad Organization. It was unveiled in June 2020 ...


External links


Official Website


Armoured fighting vehicles of Italy Tracked infantry fighting vehicles Iveco vehicles OTO Melara Military vehicles introduced in the 1990s