Land Warfare: Abrams project gets big tick

1 October 2007

By Gregor Ferguson

The Army’s Tank Replacement Project, Land 907, has earned two big ticks for the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO). The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) report on Land 907 tabled in July provided a positive report card for the Abrams tanks program.

The report states “The project is being effectively managed by the DMO to deliver an improved, replacement capability for the ageing Australian Leopard AS1 Main Battle Tanks.”

Unusually, for an ANAO report into a major DMO project, no recommendations were made. “It is noted that the audit has not raised any matters that the ANAO considered warranted a recommendation for action. All issues that have been noted in the report have been addressed or are being addressed,” the DMO said.

The second endorsement of DMO’s management of the project came in August when the project was the Victorian State winner of the Australian Institute of Project Management Awards.

Land 907 was one of seven DMO projects short-listed for awards. Land 907 also won the Defence Category for excellence in project management.

Mr Iain Watt, who was involved in the Land 907 project from its inception in 2004, accepted the award on behalf of the project team from the Tracked Manoeuvre SPO in DMO’s Land Systems Division in Melbourne. As the state-level winner Land 907 went on to represent Victoria at the AIPM National Awards in Hobart earlier this month.

Land 907's success is due to procurement through the Foreign Military Sales program, enabling delivery within three years; and close cooperation between DMO and Army, which brought the project in ahead of schedule and on budget, says the DMO.

“Defence considers that the acquisition of the Abrams tank capability through Project Land 907 has been an outstanding success, and is pleased that this ANAO audit reinforces that judgement,’’ the audit of the project, which was signed off in July, concludes.

The Australian Army has acquired 59 M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks through the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program to replace the German-designed and built Leopard AS1, which entered Australian service in 1976.

The purchase also included seven M88A2 Hercules Armoured Recovery vehicles, advanced gunnery and driver training simulators, training equipment, refuelling vehicles, ammunition, a range of spares and 14 new purpose-built heavy tank transporters comprising prime movers manufactured by MAN Military Vehicle Systems Australia Pty Ltd and "swing wing" trailers made by Drake Trailers Pty Ltd, an Australian-owned and operated Brisbane-based company.

The project is also managing the complete withdrawal and disposal of the Leopard AS1 tank fleet, which has served Australia for over 30 years.

The long-obsolescent Leopard AS1, which was acquired from what was then West Germany in 1976, bade farewell to its Australian service at the Darwin-based 1st Armoured Regiment’s 58th Birthday with a bang.

The Regiment has taken delivery of 42 Abrams tanks and two M88A2 Hercules Armoured Recovery vehicles and all squadrons are expected to be operational with their new mounts by the New Year.

A further 11 tanks have been issued to the School of Armour at Puckapunyal in Victoria and two to the Army Logistic Training Centre at Bandiana to train support personnel. Six tanks will be held in operational reserve.

As part of its audit of the project, the ANAO examined the M1A1 Abrams Integrated Management (AIM) rebuild process and confirmed that “The AIM process takes an older combat system, and replaces it with a digitised, integrated combat system.”

The US Army manufactured the tanks ordered by Australia several years ago but not used. They were hand-picked by an Australian Army survey team and underwent the standard Abrams Integrated Management upgrade to bring them up to the current US Army configuration, including radios and Battle Management System.

This will make them a key information node, as well as a key warfighting asset, in Australia’s emerging Hardened Networked Army (HNA).

Earlier in the year the DMO’s BRIG Mike Phelps responded tartly to allegations in the Melbourne Herald Sun newspaper that the Australian Abrams tanks are not interoperable with the US Army and Marine Corps and other coalition partners, due in part to not being fitted with the Blue Force Tracker system.

Phelps wrote, “Australian Abrams tanks can operate safely with and communicate effectively with US and other coalition forces. The vehicle is fitted with two voice radios that are capable of communicating with any coalition radio operating in the same mode and on the same wavelength.

“Whilst the Battle Management System provides increased situational awareness for commanders, standing rules of engagement require all coalition forces to positively identify a target before engaging. Therefore vehicles not fitted with Blue Force Tracker will not be at “grave risk of being destroyed by other fighting vehicles or coalition aircraft” as suggested by your article.”

Phelps explained, “The Battle Management System requires either satellite, combined with a data fusion centre, or radio based (terrestrial) carrier signals to enable a network to be established. Defence is negotiating the provision of satellite services, which is expected to be established by the end of 2007. In the meantime an interim solution is being investigated.”