General Dynamics receives contract for Abrams M1A2 battle tank support

General Dynamics has received a contract worth $58 million from the U.S. Army for procurement of expedited active protection systems for the Abrams M1A2 battle tank.

The contract, announced Thursday by the US Department of Defense (DoD), covers procurement of expedited active protection systems mounting kits and ballast kits to support the Abrams M1A2 battle tank.

According to a DoD’s statement, all work will be performed in Sterling Heights, Michigan, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2020.

The Abrams tank entered into service in the United States in 1980, and continues to be a top tank choice for the U.S. Army, National Guard and Marine Corps, as well as several U.S. allies, because it provides a proven, unrivaled and decisive edge in combat.

Mobility, lethality, adaptability and maintainability are all important elements, and survivability continues to be the number one discriminator in the Abrams family of tanks. Abrams is a platform that adapts new technologies while minimizing development time and cost.

The M1A2 is the latest, most technologically advanced Abrams tank, entering service in 1993. It is replacing 20-year-old M1A1-configuration tanks which began service in the 1980s.

New retrofit is part of the overall M1A2 tank upgrade program that integrates new technologies to improve soldier warfighting capability with enhanced digital command and control features like color maps and displays, computer memory, processing speed and communications.