Quote:
Originally Posted by cawest
Your are dead on for the M1A1 AIM. but in 2016 it was announced that they were going to the M1A2C standard. I cut the below from the article. It does not say that it will have DU, but the M1A2sep3 does and tusk I and maybe tusk II. this was for Twilight 2020 so they could have DU.
It may include Australia aligning our baseline tank configuration with US Army tank development pathways (M1A2 Systems Enhancement Package Version 3).
The Land 907 Phase 2 upgrade will occur over the next 10 years with the intent to have a fully operational capability by 2025.
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This is were it starts to get interesting from the Australian military point of view. The public & political situation here has been firmly anti-DU for decades but from what I'm seeing in defence circles at the moment, programmes for the future upgrading and/or expansion of the tank fleet are prepared to look at any available option (and select what's best suited to Australia's military
and political needs).
That may very well mean we get a new generation of Abrams with DU armour but it could just as easily mean we get a newer generation of armour that supersedes DU. The critical factor is going to be political - no Defence Minister is going to order something that will mean political suicide for either the Minister or the Party. If the public says "No" to DU, there aren't many politicians here who would go against that for fear of being voted out at the next election.