General Dynamics Land Systems has announced that company received a delivery order to upgrade 100 more M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks for the U.S. Army.
According to the statement, the General Dynamics the U.S. Army has signed a delivery order for General Dynamics Land Systems to upgrade 100 more M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks to the state-of-the-art M1A2 System Enhancement Package Version 3 (SEPv3) configuration.
Upgrades to the tank in this System Enhancement Package (SEP) include an additional electrical power to support future technologies, the ability to interface with advanced 120mm ammunition, an auxiliary power unit, improved armor and radios, network upgrades and increased reliability and ease of maintenance.
Unlike previous version, the M1A2 SEPv3 has better communications and networking, a new Vehicle Health Management System (VHMS) and Line Replaceable Modules (LRMs) for improved maintenance, an Ammunition DataLink (ADL) to use airburst rounds, improved counter-IED armor package, improved FLIR using long- and mid-wave infrared, a low-profile CROWS RWS, and an Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) under armor to run electronics while stationary instead of the engine.
The new version offers enhanced protection and survivability, as well as high lethality than its predecessors.
The delivery order is part of an Army Requirements Contract signed in December 2017 through which the Army can upgrade up to 435 M1A1 Abrams tanks to the M1A2 SEPv3 configuration. The M1A2 SEPv3 configuration features technological advancements in communications, reliability, sustainment and fuel efficiency, plus upgraded armor.
Work on this delivery order will be performed at Land Systems locations in Scranton, Pa., and Tallahassee, Fla., and at the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center in Lima, Ohio, the only operational tank plant in the country.