ROBO DAILY
← MILTECH  |  Home MILTECH

General Dynamics to support Egyptian M1A1 production

by Ryan Maass Washington (UPI) Feb 5, 2016 UPI

The U.S. Army has given General Dynamics Land Systems a $15.9 million contract with options for technical services supporting domestic Egyptian M1A1 production.

The foreign military sales contract supports the U.S.-Egypt co-production program, which began in 1988 through the U.S. Army.

The U.S. placed a hold on the tank's delivery to Egypt in 2013 in response to the country's coup. The Egyptian government announced both countries would resume the co-production arrangement on October 25, 2015.

The General Dynamics Land Systems-made M1A1 tank is a heavy main battle tank that entered service with the U.S. Army in 1980. The armored vehicle weights over 67 tons, and is armed with a 120mm XM256 Smooth Bore Cannon.

Upgrades to the tank include improved armor and agility, a laser rangefinder, a digital ballistic computer system and other features.

Work on the contract will be performed in Sterling Heights, Mich., and is expected to be complete by May 2019.

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, is Copyright 1995-2026 Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principles for news reporting and research purposes.