| Freccia | |
|---|---|
 Freccia in Rome | |
| Type | Wheeled infantry fighting vehicle |
| Place of origin | Italy |
| Service history | |
| In service | 2006 – present |
| Wars | War in Afghanistan |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 28 tonnes (31 short tons; 28 long tons) |
| Length | 7.6 m (24 ft 11 in) |
| Width | 2.9 m (9 ft 6 in) |
| Height | 3.0 m (9 ft 10 in) |
| Crew | 3 crew (commander, gunner, driver) + 8 passengers |
|
| |
| Armor | Welded steel hull with ceramic applications |
Main armament | 25mm Oerlikon KBA (200 rounds) |
Secondary armament | 7.62mm co-axial machine gun (4,000 cartridges), optional 7.62mm anti-air machine gun, 8 smoke generators |
| Engine |
IVECO Diesel 5HP-1500 V6 560 hp (405Kw) |
| Power/weight | 22,2 hp/tonne |
| Suspension | hydropneumatic |
Operational range | 800–1,000 km (500–620 mi) |
| Maximum speed |
105 km/h (65 mph) 25–30 km/h (16–19 mph) off road |
The Freccia (Italian language: Arrow ) is an Italian 8x8 wheeled Infantry fighting vehicle in use with the Italian Army. 249 vehicles have been ordered in a first batch to replace Cold War VCC-2 armoured personnel carriers in two brigades in Southern Italy. The Freccia is built by a consortium combining Iveco (engine, suspension) and Oto Melara (hull, armament).
The Freccia is up-armoured and revised variant of the wheeled Centauro tank destroyer fitted with the Hitfist Plus turret (an evolution of that used on the Dardo), which is armed with an Oerlikon KBA 25mm automatic cannon and carries 200 rounds of 25mm ammunition. Two 7.62mm NATO machine guns are also fitted. Additionally a pair of Spike ML/LR anti-tank missiles can be fitted on the turret. The Hitfist Plus turret could theoretically also fit cannons and guns of up to calibre 60mm. Four 80mm smoke grenade launchers are mounted on each side of the turret. The fire control system is the same as for the Centauro reconnaissance/anti-tank version. The Freccia can carry up to eight combat-ready troops. Engineer and Ambulance variants are in development.
In 2006 the Italian government ordered a first batch of 253 Freccia : 172x Freccia with Hitfist Plus turret, 36x with Hitfist turret and Spike-LR launchers, 20x Command vehicles, 21x Freccias as 120mm mortar carriers (Thomson-Daimler Armements (TDA) 2R2M mortars) and 4x as tactical ambulance. The first brigade to receive the Freccia was the Pinerolo Mechanized Brigade.
In 2014 the Italian government ordered a second batch of 381 Freccia : 261x Freccia as standard IFV, anti-tank, command post, mortar carrier and ARV versions and 120x as Freccia ISTAR.
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The original article can be found at Freccia IFV and the edit history here.