Italy's Defense Ministry has opened a €5.14 billion ($5.86 billion) procurement for a new main battle tank and vehicles built on it, according to a record published Sept. 21 in the database of Italy's National Anti-Corruption Authority (ANAC). The entry,
I wonder how that’s being measured. Obviously, fairly modern Russian armour has been destroyed quickly in Ukraine. Turtle tanks can survive well over a hundred FPV hits - at which point, the drone operators must be wishing they had basic artillery, instead - but they’re designed for that to the detriment of other capabilities.
They seem to have gotten modifications similar to turtle tanks, but less radical.
https://united24media.com/latest-news/52-drone-hits-fail-to-destroy-ukrainian-leopard-tank-during-daylong-assault-17654
Yeah, not quite an assault shed, but still pretty substantially covered, going by the picture.
The way you put it, I was expecting an unmodified tank capable of normal tank operations, in, like, a Western test.