Military Procurement International Vol. 19, No. 7, April 1, 2009
Copyright DAPSS S.A., 200
9, Switzerland. It is unlawful to reproduce any of this publication without written permission from the publisher.
IRAQ
Long lead items for 140 M1A1SA Abrams MBTs
General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) has been awarded a US$33 million contract to purchase long lead materials for the production of 140 M1A1 Situational Awareness (SA) Abrams Main Battle Tanks for the Iraqi Army.
The SA enhancements include a second generation FLIR thermal sight, Tank Urban Survivability Kit (TUSK) enhancements and a driver’s vision-enhancing thermal viewer. The tanks will also be equipped with the Tiger engine, the Pulse Jet System and embedded diagnostics. The Tiger engine has a monitoring system that is able to identify and alert the crew if there are any potential problems.
Introductory crew training is currently under way in Iraq at the Besmaya Combat Training Centre. The 140 tanks are due to arrive in Iraq over an 18-month period in groups of 35. The first regiment will begin full-scale training in December 2010.