Australia to splash out on heavy armour
Government approvals from the US will see the Australian Army’s M1 Abrams tank fleet upgraded, as well as new combat engineering assets allocated.
Greater clarity emerged on 29 April when the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced a potential $1.685 billion Foreign Military Sale to Canberra.
The extent of the purchase of combat engineering vehicles under Project Land 8160 Phase 1 is probably beyond what many were anticipating. At the same time, the number of tanks broadly accords with what was anticipated under Project Land 907 Phase 2.
These combined projects represent a serious boost to Australia’s armoured vehicle fleet.
The DSCA
Already have an account? Log in
Want to keep reading this article?
Read this Article
Get access to this article with a Free Basic Account
- Original curated content, daily across air, land and naval domains
- 2 free stories per week
- Personalised news alerts
- Daily and weekly newsletters
Unlimited Access
Access to all our premium news as a Premium News 365 Member. Corporate subscriptions available.
- Original curated content, daily across air, land and naval domains
- 14-day free trial (cancel at any time)
- Unlimited access to all published premium news
More from Land Warfare
-
Hero-120 loitering munitions to be made in US
Hero-120, a loitering munition system fitted with a 4.5kg warhead, has been designed to carry out strikes against mid-range targets. In June 2021, the US Marine Corps announced the Hero-120 had been selected for its Organic Precision Fire Mounted (OPF-M) programme.
-
Germany orders more Patriot air defence systems
The US Army has acquired more than 1,100 launchers of which it has exported at least 200 launchers, while more than 10,000 Patriot missiles have been produced to date.
-
Rheinmetall receives EU funding to boost artillery production for Ukrainian war effort
Rheinmetall has contracts to produce hundreds-of-thousands of artillery shells for Ukraine and new funding from the EU will boost the company’s manufacturing capability.
-
AUKUS members seek solutions to integrate their ground capabilities
The three countries plan to explore technologies to strengthen their collaboration in various land-related areas including artificial intelligence, autonomy, cyber, EW, hypersonic, quantum computing and logistics.