Australian Abrams?

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jwbolen
Posts: 46
Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2012 1:26 am
Location: Ohio

Australian Abrams?

Post by jwbolen »

See where they are buying75 new M1A2s. Does anybody know what there plans for the 59 M1A1
AIM(SA) they have now?
J W Bolen

chrisswim
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Re: Australian Abrams?

Post by chrisswim »

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/4 ... or-upgrade

Australia Buys M1A2 SEPv3 Advanced Abrams Tanks To Lead Its Major Armor Upgrade
The SEPv3 is the most capable variant of the trusty Abrams currently available but its value in a future Asia-Pacific conflict is questionable.

BY THOMAS NEWDICK JANUARY 10, 2022


Australia will modernize its land warfare capabilities under a roughly $2.5-billion deal that will provide its army with 75 M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams tanks, together with armored support vehicles. The decision, announced today, continues a significant spending spree on behalf of the Australian Defense Force (ADF), including plans to introduce nuclear-powered attack submarines, as well as hypersonic weapons and advanced air combat drones.

The new Abrams tanks are being procured under the Main Battle Tank Upgrade, formally known as LAND 907 Phase 2, while the Combat Engineering Vehicle (LAND 8160 Phase 1) will deliver 29 M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicles, 17 M1074 Joint Assault Bridge Vehicles, plus an additional six M88A2 Armored Recovery Vehicles, joining 13 already in service. The U.S. government approved the sale of these new vehicles to Australia via Foreign Military Sales channels in April last year.

The M1A2 SEPv3 — or System Enhancement Program version 3 — was developed by the U.S. Army to address lessons learned during fighting in Operation Iraqi Freedom and it rectifies space, weight, and power issues, as well as enhancing overall survivability. Specific changes include increased electrical power, vehicle health management systems, the Israeli-made Trophy active protection system, integrated counter-improvised explosive device (IED) protection, a new auxiliary power unit, and embedded training aids. The U.S. Army describes it as is “the most reliable Abrams tank ever produced.”

Comparison between the turret right side view of a M1A2 SEP v2 and the new M1A2 SEP v3.
increased armor thickness, the special armor modules themselves, placed in the turret and hull cavities, are now a new type
designated NGAP (Next Generation Armor Package) or NEA (Next Evolution Armor), these have replaced the old 3rd Generation
Depleted Uranium Heavy Armor Packages from the previous Abrams models, and are intended to make the M1A2 SEP v3
frontally invulnerable to the Russian newer APFSDS rounds and modern ATGMs like the ones fired by the latest versions of the
T-90 tank and the Armata.
Comparison made by Ramlaen

In terms of armament, the SEPv3 adds a ‘smart’ gun that can fire programmable munitions, using an ammunition datalink. There is also a new Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS) that combines a sensor suite with a machine gun.

The M1A2 SEPv3 represents an advance over the Australian Army’s current M1A1 (AIM) variants, 59 of which were acquired second-hand from the U.S. Army and Marine Corps in 2006. These superseded Cold War-era Leopard 1s.

It’s reported that the M1A2 SEPv3 will replace the earlier vehicles directly, although previous plans had included enlarging the overall Abrams fleet to 90 tanks. The original approval from the U.S. State Department noted that “the M1A2 SEPv3 Main Battle Tanks will upgrade the current Australian fleet of M1A1 SA tanks with no changes to Royal Australian Armored Corps force structure.” Australian Army M1A1s are currently operated by three Armored Cavalry Regiments in Adelaide, Brisbane, and Townsville.
Chris

jwbolen
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Location: Ohio

Re: Australian Abrams?

Post by jwbolen »

So replacing 59 with 75 but not increasing force structure. Wonder if the 59 will be traded in, sold or stored?
J W Bolen

jwbolen
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Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2012 1:26 am
Location: Ohio

Re: Australian Abrams?

Post by jwbolen »

So replacing 59 with 75 but not increasing force structure. Wonder if the 59 will be traded in, sold or stored?
J W Bolen

Splod
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Re: Australian Abrams?

Post by Splod »

jwbolen wrote:
Wed Feb 16, 2022 9:34 pm
So replacing 59 with 75 but not increasing force structure. Wonder if the 59 will be traded in, sold or stored?
I've been looking and can't find any concrete information about what the intention is for the old hulls. I can only imagine that they'll be returned to the US and scrapped or refurbished for the various third world markets. I can't imagine any of our allies in the region would be interested in 20+ year old tanks, and they'll be too valuable to be turned into range targets.
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rct75001
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Re: Australian Abrams?

Post by rct75001 »

we could park then in front of the local RSLs

chatto
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Re: Australian Abrams?

Post by chatto »

The old Abrams are being sent back to the US for some elements, but a large pecentage of the vehicles will probably have most of their gear turned into extra spare parts. Things like the cannon etc will be kept locally as potential replacement barrels etc, as our tanks are relatively limited use.

Our tanks are often called Koalas - they're endangered and never to leave Aussie shorelines!

honkymen
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Re: Australian Abrams?

Post by honkymen »

And what became of 59? will it be traded, sold, or saved?

chrisswim
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Re: Australian Abrams?

Post by chrisswim »

Thank you Chatto.
Keep us informed in the next year or so.

Here are some of the 59 M1A1 AIM.
Image
Chris

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