Australia chooses M1A1 tanks

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Aussie Digger

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Quote: Australian Defence Minister's release:

The Government will equip the Australian Army with a fleet of 59 United States M1A1 Abrams Integrated Management main battle tanks to replace the ageing Leopards, Defence Minister Robert Hill announced today.

The project cost is about $550 million.

The Abrams tanks are significantly more capable than the current tank and will contribute to the Army becoming more lethal in future close combat.

The Government accepted Defence’s advice that the Abrams is the best capability and the best value for money with the lowest risk of the three replacement tank options examined.

Senator Hill said the new tanks would be introduced into service from 2007 and would be based with 1st Brigade in the Northern Territory.

"The tanks will be used by the Army to provide increased firepower, mobility and survivability for our soldiers on the battlefield," Senator Hill said.

"They will also improve the Army’s network centric warfare capability, supporting the development of a networked combined arms approach to operations – where armour, infantry, artillery, aviation and engineers work together to support and protect each other. "

The Abrams can reach speeds of up to 66km/h on Australian roads and up to
48 km cross country with a cruising range of up to 480kms, carrying four crew and ammunition. Each tank is equipped with a 120mm smooth bore cannon as its primary weapon and a 50-calibre machine gun for the tank commander in addition to two 7.62mm machine guns. They are capable of firing an advanced kinetic energy Tungsten penetrator against vehicles and a multi-purpose round for infantry support. They have also been designed to provide a level of protection for soldiers from nuclear, biological or chemical threats.

Senator Hill said that the Abrams, with an approximate combat weight of 63 tonnes, was only around 500kg heavier than its competitors. It can be deployed throughout the region using existing naval vessels and infrastructure. The introduction of new amphibious ships from 2010 will give the Army unprecedented mobility and deployability throughout our region and beyond.

In addition to the tanks, extra refueling, recovery and transport support vehicles, training simulators and an integrated logistic support package will be acquired from the United States. All these elements of the capability are included in the purchase price. Australian industry is expected to be involved in the provision of through-life support for the Abrams.

"The decision to purchase replacement tanks recognises the modern threat from the proliferation of shoulder-fired anti-armour weapons that our forces may encounter on their missions in the future," Senator Hill said.

"The new tanks will not only ensure that the Army can defend Australian territory but it will also provide additional firepower and protection to ensure deployed forces achieve rapid success while minimising friendly casualties."

Fact Sheet

Strategic Rationale for the Acquisition of a new Tank



The thinking underlying the decision to purchase the Abrams M1A1 reflects the same strategic rationale which the Government outlined in the Defence 2000 White Paper.
That white paper stated that the Government would ensure that ‘our land forces will have the combat weight they need to achieve their missions without undue risk’.
Today’s decision follows through on the Government’s commitment and is aligned with existing strategic policy as expressed in the White Paper.
A wide range of extremely lethal, concealable, high technology weapons are becoming available to our potential adversaries. These weapons can be carried, concealed and operated by one person. They are cheap and accessible.
This means that, even when we do not expect to meet major opposition (such as in peacekeeping or evacuation operations), our soldiers can encounter, without warning, highly lethal weapons of a standard that simply did not exist a few years ago.
It would be entirely irresponsible of the Government to send Australia’s young men and women into harm’s way without giving them adequate protection and the means to achieve their missions.
Capable tanks provide this capability. Independent scientific studies have shown that, where capable tanks are present, they reduce friendly casualties by a factor of six, and almost double the chance of mission success. Because of their precision firepower and excellent sensor systems, they also reduce casualties to innocent bystanders and prevent collateral environmental damage.
The current tank is becoming increasingly vulnerable to a proliferation of sophisticated anti-armour weapons and clearly we couldn’t continue with it in that threat environment on the battlefield.
The Government has accepted the Chief of Army’s argument that combined arms teams, including capable infantry, tanks, armoured vehicles, artillery, Special Forces and other elements, are essential for the Army to fulfil its role.
FACT SHEET

THE M1A1 ABRAMS INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT MAIN BATTLE TANK

During operations in Iraq the M1A1 clearly demonstrated it has the necessary firepower, mobility and survivability to achieve dominance on the battlefield as part of a combined arms team.
The M1A1 demonstrated its effectiveness in Iraq on many occasions. In one instance an M1A1 took a direct hit to the ammunition storage area, all of the rounds inside were detonated, however the crew survived and carried on with their mission.
Australian Warrant Officer Joe Day who was serving on exchange with the US Marine Corps 1st Light Armoured Reconnaissance Battalion during operations in Iraq commented that from his observations the M1A1 was the 'king of the battlefield and that light armour and infantry couldn't survive without tanks and guns'.
Warrant Officer Day also saw an M1A1 take a direct hit from an Iraqi T- 62 and then continue on and destroy the enemy tank.
The motor and transmission on the M1A1 performed so well in Iraq on the very long drives through difficult terrain that the US Tank Automotive and Armaments Command are not planning any further work on trying to extend the transmission hours as they do not need it.
The M1A1 AIM vehicle that Australia will procure will not be equipped with either Depleted Uranium armour or munitions. The armour on offer is of an advanced composite design, which is in accord with our capability requirements.
The new tank will fire an advanced kinetic energy Tungsten penetrator against vehicles and a multi-purpose round for infantry support. The tank is powered by a gas turbine engine, the AGT-1500. Gas turbine engines, including the AGT-1500, are truly multi-fuel. They offer excellent power/weight ratios compared to diesel engines.
They have a very good cold-start capability (unlike a diesel), with smooth torque and low vibration (an advantage for crews and sensitive onboard systems). The gas turbine motor is also substantially quieter than a traditional diesel tank engine ( like that in a Leopard 1). Additional tactical refuelling trucks to provide fuel for the tanks in the field are included in the $A550m package.

Outside of the US Army and US Marine Corps the M1A1 is operated by Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

The M1A1 AIM tank was selected for the following reasons:

The M1A1 AIM has the best overall survivability of the options considered. It offers battlefield proven protection for its crews.
The M1A1 AIM in Australian service will be very similar to the remainder of the large user community. It is part of a large fleet with stable, known operating costs, which will be in service beyond 2020.
They will be configured as part of a fleet of 3,500 similar vehicles across the world. These particular vehicles will be very similar to over 2,500 vehicles operated by the US to at least 2020.
The M1A1 AIM has the best potential to support network centric warfare. It offers a proven integrated and highly capable radio and battlespace management system.
The M1A1 AIM is assessed to have the least technical acquisition risk as the vehicle type and configuration for Australian service is already in production. It is a proven design, which is already in contract.
The M1A1 AIM is the right tank for Australian service. It is a highly survivable and affordable vehicle, with excellent potential for network centric warfare. The M1A1 provides the best value for Commonwealth dollar with low production and technical risk.
The Foreign Military Sales (FMS) offer for the M1A1 includes, spares, training, support vehicles, Armoured Recovery Vehicles, simulation systems, radios and ancillary equipment as part of the overall package.
The M1A1 that ADF will procure are essentially remanufactured vehicles. They have been returned to a zero miles zero hours condition. This will provide substantial cost benefits in comparison to purchasing new vehicles.
The M1A1 Abrams weighs less than 63,000 kilograms (<63 tonnes) when fully combat laden. This is only slightly heavier than the Leopard 2 and is lighter than the Challenger takes that were considered. All three tank options that were considered are within 1000 kg of each other in combat configuration. In transport configuration the M1A1 will weigh around 59-60 tonnes.
Additional Heavy Equipment Transporters and trailers will be procured under Project Land 121.
The crane that loaded tanks in Darwin would be capable of doing the same for M1. We have an ongoing discussion about strategic rail transport in Australia and the issue of appropriate rolling stock will continue to be discussed.

This is good news I suppose, but so much for the Chief of the Armies plan to become an army of "2's" rather than "ones". The number of tanks being purchased will barely be sufficient to equip our existing Tank Regiment let alone a second one. Still beggars can't be choosers...
 
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Aussie Digger

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Re: Australia choses M1A1 tanks

Here's the Tank we'll be getting.



Here's the support vehicles the Minister mentioned.





 

gf0012-aust

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Re: Australia choses M1A1 tanks

They will also have the "brigade and below" command system. This is even more advanced than the IVIS system as fitted to the original M1A2s'.
 
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Aussie Digger

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According to General Leahy (Chief of the Australian Army) these new tanks will equip 2 tank squadrons within 1 Armoured Regt and 1 training Squadron at the School of Armour in Puckapunyal, Victoria. This will give us the same capability as we currently possess numbers wise, given that a number of our Leopard 1's have been withdrawn from service. Still the Royal Australian Armoured Corps must be happy. In the not too distant future they'll be getting new M1A1's, vastly upgraded M113AS3/4's, new and upgraded ASLAV's and new support vehicles for each type of vehicle. Given the increasing rolling upgrades to our infantry that have been happening and the upgrades for Aviation that have already been announced and or planned for, I guess it's Artillery's turn next...
 

Winter

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M1A1s, Global Hawks, Tiger gunships, to name a few...What a roll. :roll

Gf's image of the M1A1 with the safer cork stuck up it's gun barrel...It makes it look like someone is having a laugh...

: )
 
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Me too, the A6 version at least. Plus we probably could have afforded to equip 1 Armoured Regiment with 3 squadrons of Leopard 2A6's, rather than 2 squadrons with the M1A1. Oh well, as I said above, beggars can't be choosers...
 

Winter

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Why was the M1A1 AIM configuration selected in particular, and not ~A2? A surplus? Cheaper? Both? Suited to the procurement's needs more?
 
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I think the reason the M1A1 was chosen was 1, it probably cost less than the M1A2. 2. It does not use any depleted uranium in it's design, something that has been a fairly large political issue here. 3. The M1A1's will be remanufactured to "zero-time" hulls and will be available for use a lot quicker then new-build M1A2's, as they are tanks that are being taken from the (already established) US production line for their M1A1 refurbishment program. 4. The "integrated management" system is actually a more advanced command, control and communication system to that fitted to the M1A2. 5. The M1A1 is about 5 tons lighter than the M1A2 thus meaning it's going to be more mobile, and have longer endurance given that they both use the same engine with the same power output. The lighter weight also means it will be just that little bit easier to deploy as well. 6. The M1A1 for Australia will have roughly the same firepower and a similar (if not quite equal) level of protection to the M1A2 and greater mobility...
 
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What the fire control etc? The main difference as I understand it is the armour package and fire control. We won't get the DU armour package, the government would be smashed politically if we did...
 

Red aRRow

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gf0012 said:
Rumour is that the A1's will be electronically upped to A2 std
I really was expecting that M1A2s would be ordered. Quite surprised by the news that A1s were the weapons of choice. :?
 
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Me too, but the cost and the Depleted Uranium were the telling factors I think...
 

gf0012-aust

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fieldmarshal said:
aye i heard it on channel 9 news that these tanks will be second hand.............
They are second hand, but they go through what is called a "zero back" process. It's more or less a complete rebuild to "as new" specs
 

tatra

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fieldmarshal said:
aye i heard it on channel 9 news that these tanks will be second hand.............
Imagine ....

Anyway, there's used (e.g. seen action in Iraq) and used (e.g. went from factory to storage). I'm assuming the latter rather than the former to be the case.
 

Gremlin29

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I can't imagine their not having gone through Depot maintenance which is in fact a remanufacture to brand new condition. I've picked up aircraft from Depot in Corpus Christi and they were just like they were the day they rolled off the assembly line.
 

gf0012-aust

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AFAIK these are part of the reserve war stock of 4000 units. They haven't seen combat and we get to pick out the "best" 59 that we want.

A team is going over there to cherry pick the units we want.
 
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