An Australian Army M1A1 Abrams MBT takes part in Exercise ‘Brolga Sprint 24' at Townsville Field Training Area, Queensland, in June 2024. (Commonwealth of Australia)
The Australian Army has retired its last M1A1 Abrams main battle tank (MBT) from its Gallipoli Barracks in Brisbane as the service prepares to shift the focus of its armoured capability to Townsville, northeastern Queensland.
The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) said the army's last M1A1 Abrams rolled out of the Gallipoli Barracks in late July, marking “the end of an era for 7th Brigade unit 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment (QMI) (2/14 [QMI]), which has operated with the vehicles since 2017”.
The Australian Army's M1A1s are being replaced by M1A2 SEPv3 (Systems Enhancement Package Version 3) Abrams MBTs ordered from the US government in 2022 and expected to be introduced into the Australian Army from 2025.
The new M1A2s will be operated from Townsville in line with recommendations outlined in Australia's 2023 Defence Strategic Review (DSR) and 2024 National Defence Strategy.
These policies outlined a requirement to shift the Australian Army's MBT capability from Brisbane to Townsville as part of wider plans to better enable the Australian Defence Force to carry out joint operations from northern Australia.
A DoD spokesperson told Janes on 5 August, “In line with the recommendations of the DSR, the government announced changes to the Australian Army's force posture and structure, shifting [the] army to a ‘focused' force structure featuring combat brigades with specific roles and the relocation of some capabilities to northern Australia.”
“Under these changes, Townsville will become the home of our armoured vehicles and army attack and medium-lift aviation.”
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