Ukraine’s Armed Forces released first visual confirmation of Italian Centauro B1 armored vehicles.

Ukraine’s 78th Air Assault Regiment released footage confirming Italian Centauro B1 wheeled gun systems now in service, with add-on protection visible on the vehicles. The debut gives maneuver units a mobile 105 mm direct-fire option that can integrate quickly with combined-arms teams.

Imagery posted by Ukraine’s 78th Air Assault Regiment shows Centauro B1s operating with the Air Assault Forces, offering the first clear look at Italy’s transfer after months of speculation. The clips and stills, released around Air Assault Forces Day, depict vehicles fitted with cage and grid sections against FPV drones and shaped-charge threats, suggesting crews are hardening the platform before wider fielding. Italy has not publicly disclosed quantities, consistent with Rome’s low-visibility approach to aid.
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Screenshot from the 78th Air Assault Regiment video released on Nov. 9, 2025, showing a Centauro B1 in frontline use in Ukraine fitted with improvised anti-drone screens (Picture source: Ukraine’s 78th Air Assault Regiment)

The images show spaced metal screens and a mesh “grille” surrounding the turret and hull. Set off from the armor, these structures shift the detonation point and lessen the impulse, while degrading the coherence of the shaped-charge jet when impact occurs at unfavorable angles. Cable-made “spikes” are also visible, intended to push an attacking drone’s fuze farther from the armor. The solution covers likely approach paths without blocking hatches or fields of fire. Such “mangal” kits spread on the theater from 2023 onward, and the adaptation to Centauro geometry looks thorough, especially around the turret ring, where the tensioned fabric mesh can, in some cases, prevent a fuze from functioning on impact.

Under these add-ons, the Centauro’s original armor provides all-round protection against 14.5 mm fire and resistance on the frontal arc to 25 mm armor-piercing rounds, a baseline relevant to common threats. The welded steel structure and internal compartmentalization support battlefield endurance, while an overpressure nuclear biological chemical (NBC) system and air conditioning allow prolonged operation in extreme temperatures. Ukrainian choices here emphasize drone defeat and spall reduction over heavy applique plates, preserving acceleration and mobility on soft ground. The mass-protection balance remains central for air assault units that rely on surprise, tempo, and controlled dispersion.

Firepower is centered on the 105 mm gun. The turret mounts an Oto Melara 105 mm/52 rifled cannon compatible with the L7/M68 family of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ammunition, opening access to a portfolio ranging from armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding-sabot to blast-effect high explosive for neutralizing strongpoints. Forty rounds are carried in total, fourteen in the turret to speed engagement. A 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun complements the main armament, with an optional 7.62 mm or 12.7 mm roof mount, and 76 mm smoke dischargers on either side of the turret to screen a withdrawal. In a force structure mixing legacy calibers and Western standards, this compatibility eases logistics and interoperability, unlike the AMX-10 RC, which uses different cartridges.

For mobility, the B1 uses an Iveco VTCA V6 diesel of about 520 hp paired with a ZF automatic transmission, yielding a published road speed of 100 to 105 km/h and an approximate 800 km range in standard configuration. Hydropneumatic suspension, assisted steering on multiple axles at low speed, a central tire-inflation system, and run-flat tires enhance off-road traction and survivability. With a crew of four and a mass of roughly 24 to 25 tonnes before field kits, the vehicle remains within tactical airlift envelopes and can use infrastructure not available to tanks, which matters in Ukraine for quick moves between support points.

At the tactical level, Centauro combines cavalry and direct-support roles. In an air assault brigade, it can cover reconnaissance elements, secure a junction, strike a light column with accurate line-of-sight fire, then disengage under electromagnetic emission control (EMCON). Gun stabilization and a capable fire-control setup support a first-round hit, while the 8x8 chassis provides the acceleration needed to evade artillery and loitering munitions. It is not designed for urban breaching, and survivability depends on camouflage, deception, short-range air defense coverage, and electronic warfare support. With appropriate sensors and data links, Centauro platoons feed a common operational picture (COP), delegate observation to medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) drones, and retain the option to exploit short firing windows.

Italy’s choice, even without public numbers, strengthens European assistance and reflects confidence in Ukraine’s ability to absorb a Western 105 mm system within composite brigades. The November visual confirmation comes as European armies accelerate replenishment and upgrades, and it provides immediate feedback to the continent’s defense industrial and technological base (BITD) on survivability in a drone-saturated conflict. It highlights the value of interoperable ammunition families, opens channels for sustainment and offset, and encourages partners to industrialize anti-drone kits suited to current threats. For NATO, the task is to preserve deterrence stocks while supporting Ukraine, as Russia increases FPV saturation. In the near term, this widens Ukraine’s mobile direct-fire options; over time, it speeds the European learning cycle in a saturated environment, from the recognized maritime/air picture to the COP, from camouflage to EMCON, within an emerging war-economy context.