Australian Army trains on Abrams M1A2

Australia has ordered 75 Abrams M1A2 SEPv3 MBTs under a contract announced in 2022. (US Army)

An initial group of Australian Army soldiers have completed operations and maintenance training on the service's new General Dynamics Land Systems Abrams M1A2 SEPv3 (Systems Enhancement Package Version 3) main battle tanks (MBTs), the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) said on 8 November.

The DoD said initial training on the M1A2s was held in Puckapunyal in Victoria. It provided no additional details but said the Australian Army will start field tests of the M1A2 from early 2025. The DoD also said that 46 out of 75 on-order M1A2s have so far been delivered to Australia. Fourteen of the M1A2s will be delivered to the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, based in Townsville, by the end of the year.

Major General Jason Blain, the head of land systems in the Australian Army, said, “[The] army will also use simulation training systems being delivered by defence industry partners, including Thomas Global Systems Australia and Thales Australia, based in New South Wales, and Universal Motion Simulation, based in Victoria.”

The Australian DoD did not elaborate on the types of simulation training systems used by the army.

Maj Gen Blain added that the new tanks will also leverage existing support infrastructure where possible and additional investment will be made to support M1A2 sustainment.

“The new main battle tanks will require a range of subsystem and component maintenance, repair, and overhaul capabilities,” he said. The DoD said these services will be based in locations where the M1A2s will operate, including at Puckapunyal and Bandiana in Victoria, and Townsville in Queensland.