General Dynamics awarded a contract for M1A2S main battle tanks conversion of Saudi Arabia 2309133

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Defence & Security News - Saudi Arabia
 
 
Monday, September 23, 2013 11:51 AM
 
General Dynamics awarded a contract for M1A2S main battle tanks conversion of Saudi Arabia.
General Dynamics Land Systems has been awarded $187.5 million for conversion of 44 M1A1 and 40 M1A2 Abrams tanks to the Saudi M1A2 (M1A2S) configuration for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Foreign Military Sales contract was awarded by the U.S. Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command on behalf of the Royal Saudi Land Forces.
     

Saudi Arabia Army M1A2S main battle tank at IDEX 2013, defense exhibition in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
     

This new contract continues work started in 2008 to update M1A1 and M1A2 tanks to the M1A2S configuration for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The M1A2S conversion increases the efficiency and capability of the tank to the SEP (System Enhancement Package) level.

Due to heavy exterior armour, the tank offers enhanced protection to a crew of four, and also features a gunners primary sight (GPS), new Block I 2nd generation forward-looking infrared (FLIR) technology, eye-safe laser range finder, as well as a blue force tracking (BFT) system for enhanced effectiveness in the battlefield.

Equipped with manually loaded 120mm M256 smooth bore cannon, the tank is capable of firing a multitude of different rounds, such as M865 TPCSDS-T and M831 TP-T training ammunition against enemy armoured vehicles, soldiers and low-flying aircraft.

The work will be performed by current employees at the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center in Lima, Ohio, with an estimated completion date of March 2015.