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I just learned that the Italian army has just recevied the last of 200 brand new MBT‘s, the "Ariete" built by Consorzio Iveco. The contract included parts ammunition and support and was worth just under a billion dollars. that seemmed like a lot to me averaging $485000 per tank. I couldnt find any technical stuff on the tank but then again Im sure its heavily guarded info im sure it must be state of the art though. Im just wondering why Italy can afford to make a purchase such as this where they get more front line MBT‘s then we currently have for overall what is a trivial amount of money when you look at the Canadian budget. I dont belive Italy is in any more danger of landing itself in the middle of a large conflict then we are at the moment and probably much less considering they dont camp right next to public enemy #1 (US) I dont know what there previous tank was but it couldnt be to much more ancient than what we have at the moment, even with the new upgrades the Leo version we currently have is severly laking. So I guess what im saying who dropped the ball??? Even for self defense and Sovernity purposes we have much more space to cover and therefore should technically speaking of course need more manpower but where short 40 tanks (164 Leos i belive??) I dont see the Leos lasting to the projected 2010 (most likley past that) without some logistical problems (parts and stuff) I dont know what the Canadian defence budget is but I know we cant just talk on a billion for new hardware but the gov is gonna have to wake up sometime and realise that we have been literaly left behind on the equitment side of things Leos going downhill Gryphone helecopters getting old quick and F-18‘s are far away from top of the line. Whats the point of having world class soldiers pilots and engineers if you cant give them the tools to get the job done. Well okay theres my rant for the month I feel better already 
any comments???
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