Egypt will build one hundred new M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks at its Cairo Tank Factory, bringing the total number of Abrams tanks in service with the Egyptian Army to 755. The U.S. Government will pay for the new tanks, which are expected to cost $564 million.
The advanced American-designed Abrams tanks are a mainstay of the Egyptian Army, which already fields over 600 of them in addition to its older tanks. The tanks are built in Egypt in a “co-production program” in which they are assembled locally from parts manufactured in the United States and delivered as “kits”. The Egyptian co-production program began with an order for 555 M1A1 kits in 1991, and these were completed by 1998. An additional 100 kits ordered in 1999 will be completed by April 2003. The latest order will bring the total Egyptian tank co-production up to 755 M1A1 tank kits
The American company General Dynamics, which produces the Abrams tanks for the American Army, has been awarded a contract for the production of 100 M1A1 kits of components for assembling the full tank. The $141 million contract was issued by the US Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command and was announced by the company over the weekend. The kits are to be delivered to Egypt by November 2005.
Apart from the tank components, various additional items and spares are expected to bring the cumulative amount of the completed contract to $312 million. The U.S. Department of Defense estimates that the total cost for the new Egyptian tanks will be $564 million. This will be paid for by the U.S. Government as part of the annual $2 billion in American aid to Egypt.
The key participant in the program will be the Lima Army Tank Plant, a U.S. government owned factory operated by General Dynamics, which will manufacture the tanks’ turret structures and armor packs. However, General Dynamics states that every one of its Land Systems production facilities will contribute to the content of each kit.
The M1A1 is an improved model of the original M1 Abrams. It is equipped with a 120mm cannon, heavy armor, and a powerful engine that gives it great speed. During the 1991 Gulf War the M1A1 fired at Iraq opponents from ranges up to 4000 meters, nearly twice further then the Iraqi tanks could fire.
Other operators of the Abrams in the Middle East include the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which purchased and fielded 315 M1A2 Abrams tanks in the Royal Saudi Land Forces, and the Government of Kuwait, which purchased and fielded 218 M1A2 Abrams tanks in the Kuwaiti Land Forces.(www.albawaba.com)
