ROLL ’EM
First Aussie Abrams produced

Abrams M1A1 Main Battle Tank.

Win a ride in an Abrams

Do you like the thought of naming our first Abrams tank? Then the CA wants your ideas. Submissions are to include your suggestion and a brief reason as to why the suggestion is appropriate. CA Lt-Gen Peter Leahy will select the name of the first Abrams from your suggestions. If your submission is chosen, you will accompany the CA to the delivery site and be one of the first people to operate the tank on official handover. All submissions should be directed by email to Maj Andy Weir at andy.weir@defence.gov.au by May 16.

THE first five of the Army’s 59 Abrams M1A1 AIM tanks have rolled off the production line in the US.

Defence representatives attended a ceremony marking the occasion in Lima, Ohio, at the Joint Services Manufacturing Centre on February 16.

This is the first major delivery under Australia’s Foreign Military Sales program with the US. The five tanks will now be transported to Fort Hood, Texas, in preparation for the training of armoured corps soldiers and maintainers as they convert to the new vehicle.

The Abrams, which will replace the Leopard AS1s, will be introduced into Army training schools in Australia later this year and will be fielded in Darwin by mid-2007.

CA Lt-Gen Leahy said the Abrams, purchased from the US. Army inventory, would provide “increased firepower, mobility and survivability for soldiers on the battlefield”.

“The Abrams ensures that if we have to deploy our forces on close combat operations they will have the combat weight they need to achieve their mission without undue risk,” Lt-Gen Leahy said.

“All tanks procured under this project have been rebuilt under the Abrams Integrated Management program to an as-new, zero-kilometre, zero-hour standard.”

The Abrams will form a key component of the Hardened and Networked Army plan.

The Abrams Integrated Management (AIM) program applies modifications and technology improvement to the M1A1 to ensure it will serve to 2020 and beyond.

The comprehensive rebuilding process means the tanks have embedded diagnostics and digitalisation plus a range of armour, firepower, automotive and engine improvements.

Of the 6256 major components on the tank, 5368 are replaced with brand new components. The remaining components are checked to ensure that they adhere to the manufacturer’s original specification or they are replaced by new components.

The modification process for the Abrams began in June 2005 when the 59 Australian-selected M1A1s were transferred to the Anniston Army Depot, Alabama, where they were stripped to their component parts.

“The delivery of these new capabilities is proceeding to schedule and demonstrates the close cooperation occurring between Defence Materiel Organisation and Army,” Lt-Gen Leahy said.

Armed and dangerous