Armour upgradesĪlso due for an upgrade is the tank's armour. Other digital upgrades are not disclosed by the Army although the Americans are rolling out the latest high-tech 'active protection systems' for its heavy armour. In the latest-generation thermal gun sights, the target can be seen from further out, it can be identified, locked onto and synchronised with firing the gun.

The main upgrade items for the tanks will enhance 'lethality' and introduce new-generation communications and sights. 'We're in a technology cul de sac with our Abrams tanks,' says Duus. The first task of the current Land project is to 'right-size' the fleet to 90, which Duus says is uncontroversial and was acknowledged by the then-Australian government and the US government when the M1 was originally acquired as a foreign military sale.ĭuus says the challenge of converting the Australian M1 Abrams from an analogue model to a fully digital tank – along with other enhancements, including creating a 'breaching and bridging' capability – will cost between $770 million and $1 billion. MBT is the core of an Army's ability to engage in sustained close combat: when you can actually see the enemy, an MBT is an indispensable and devastating weapon, says Colonel Anthony Duus, the Australian Army's Director of Armoured Fighting Vehicles Systems.ĭuus says we may have one of the best tanks in the world, but we have too few, we have the 'analogue' models and we do not have the domestic sustainment capacity for the M1 Abrams in the way that the RAAF and RAN sustains its fleets. It has not seen combat since 59 of them were bought in 2007, and Australia has not used an MBT since it deployed its Centurions in the Vietnam War.Ī major upgrade is being considered for Australia's main battle tank, the M1 Abrams. The Australian Army's main battle tank (MBT) is the M1 Abrams, an American 62-tonne behemoth that carries four people and a 120mm main gun.

Less well known is the resurgence of a defence technology which has not made many headlines for the past 45 years: the main battle tank. As the Defence Department gears into 'new and enhanced capability', spending around $195 billion over the next 10 years, most people are aware of the large-scale builds: the Air Warfare Destroyers, the 12 future submarines, the future frigates and Australia's step into the aviation future with 72 F-35 stealth fighters.

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