These vehicles were initially sent to Fort Hood, Texas, to train Australian Army tank crews and defence and civilian personnel in their operation and maintenance. The Australian Army's only tank unit - the 1st Armoured Regiment based at Robertson Barracks, Darwin - will receive 41 of the vehicles, with the rest being issued to the School of Armour at Puckapunyal and the Army Logistic Training Centre (ALTC) at Bandiana in Victoria for training purposes or held in operational reserve.Īmong the recently arrived vehicles were the first five re-built M1A1 (AIM) tanks to roll off the production line for the Australian project last year. Under the DMO's $550 million Project Land 907, which was approved by Cabinet in March 2004, the Australian Army will ultimately acquire 59 M1A1 tanks through the United States Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program to replace the German-designed and built Leopard AS1, which entered Australian service in 1976. They were met at the dock by the first three of 14 new purpose-built heavy tank transporters comprising prime movers manufactured by MAN Military Vehicle Systems Australia Pty Ltd and "swing wing" trailers made by Drake Trailers Pty Ltd, an Australian-owned and operated Brisbane-based company. The vehicles arrived at Melbourne aboard a Norwegian vessel which loaded them at Baltimore in the United States in July. By the time this is published the Army's first M1A1 Abrams Integrated Management (AIM) main battle tanks will have arrived in Australia this is a key step in the Hardening and Networking of the Army process which began formally last year.Īs this issue of ADM was going to print, 18 M1A1 Abrams Integrated Management (AIM) tanks and five Hercules M88A2 tracked Armoured Recovery Vehicles (ARV) had arrived at the Australian Army's School of Armour at Puckapunyal in Victoria, where two state-of-the-art vehicle crew simulation systems were installed last month.
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