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Needless to say, what’s happening in Syria is a nightmare for those who have been forced by circumstance to bear witness to the intractable violence. The plight of the hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the country is unfathomable and the situation facing those who remain is even worse. For military and political strategists in Washington, Syria’s civil war represents a different kind of nightmare. The Russia-Iran nexus is just about the worst possible outcome for the US, whose status as global hegemon was already fading in the face of an ascendant China. Put simply, the partnership between Washington’s two...

I'm considering the purchase of the M1A in National Match grade.Anyone have experience using this rifle and how does it compare (in accuracy) to the Remington 700 Tactical.

Despite revolution, US set to approve tank sales to Egypt By YAAKOV KATZ 07/08/2011 18:21 If approved, the deal would increase the number of Abrams tanks in Egypt from around 1,000 to 1,13; Congress must approve deal. Despite the recent revolution in Egypt and continued anti-government demonstrations there on Friday, the United States signaled this week that it plans to continue business as usual when it comes to arms sales to the Egyptian Military. On Friday, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a possible sale of 125 M1A1 Abrams tank to Egypt – the first large arms deal...

Iraqi army builds up first tank division Published: Dec. 21, 2010 BAGHDAD, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- The new Iraqi army has started building up its armored forces with the first batch of 140 U.S.-built M1A1 Abrams main battle tank, the same type that crushed Saddam Hussein's military in March 2003. The 9th Armored Division, based near Baghdad, will be the spearhead of an army that will likely have a strength of more than 300,000 troops in up to 20 divisions, six of them armored. That's a far cry from the 1 million-man army, with 5,500 mainly Soviet- built T-72 and...

The U.S. military is sending a contingent of heavily armored battle tanks to Afghanistan for the first time in the nine-year war, defense officials said, a shift that signals a further escalation in the aggressive tactics that have been employed by American forces this fall to attack the Taliban. The deployment of a company of M1 Abrams tanks, which will be fielded by the Marines in the country's southwest, will allow ground forces to target insurgents from a greater distance - and with more of a lethal punch - than is possible from any other U.S. military vehicle. The 68-ton...

BAGHDAD — Program managers from the United States and Iraq, along with representatives from the General Dynamics Contract Logistics Support (CLS) group, met to discuss the fielding of M1A1SA Abrams tanks for the Iraqi Army, March 4. The tanks are scheduled to arrive over an 18-month period in groups of 35, according to Mark Bangsboll of Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq’s (MNSTC-I) Joint Headquarters Army Advisory Training Team Planning Office. Charles Campbell, JHAATT M1A1SA program coordinator, said, “This meeting is meant to initiate dialog on the support and sustainment required for the M1A1SA program, as well as setting-up delivery,...

In this Oct. 31, 2008 file photo, Iraqi Soldiers are introduced to the tanks their Army will use in the future. Photo by Spc. Chase Kincaid, Joint Combat Camera Center Iraq. TAJI — The Iraqi Army Armor School here hosted an M1A1 tank orientation for the first group of 28 Iraqi Army M1A1 tank crewmen, Dec. 21. The crewmen, selected from the cadre of current Iraqi Army Armor School instructors and Iraqi Army 9th Mechanized Infantry Division, will continue their orientation through Jan. 2.  Final selectees will then participate in a three month train-the-trainer course with U.S. Army instructors at...

Saudis may make weapons with US By Ahmed A. Elewa, Staff Reporter Abu Dhabi: The United States is planning to jointly produce tank components, light armoured vehicles and other products in Saudi Arabia, according to a senior US military official. "Our biggest co-production project in the Middle East is in Egypt, where we jointly produced 1025 M1A1 tanks. In Saudi Arabia we are still in the planning phase, though the project initially will not be as big as what we have in Egypt, but there is good potential for growth there," Brigadier General Clinton Anderson, head of the US Army's...

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Nov. 28, 2006) -- "Adrenaline rush" doesn't describe what it's like to stand next to a tank as it fires. It's as if Thor, Norse god of thunder, got his Viking shorts in a bunch because someone makes a noise louder than him, so he grabs hold of the adrenal glands and squeezes for all he's worth. The ear-cracking, rib-crunching, earth-shaking "boom" of the M-1A1 Main Battle Tank's 120 mm main-gun round firing is nothing short of unnatural. It's the sound of a thousand trees snapping in half all at once, the smack of a semi truck...

Abrams enters familiarisation phase Australian Army personnel are set to work with US marine corps before the arrival of Abrams tanks next year, reports John Kerin ONE hundred Australian crewmen are in the US preparing for the arrival next year of our M1A1 AIM Abrams tanks. Lieutenant-Colonel Duncan Hayward, of the Australian Army Abrams implementation team, says men from the Army's 1st armoured brigade in Darwin had been despatched to work with the US marine corps, and familiarise themselves with the tank before the first vehicles arrive in June next year. Australia has bought 59 tanks dating from the mid...

The battle-tested Abrams tank is poised to remain in service for at least 25 more years, or until the Army is certain that it has an adequate replacement. The tank will stay in the Army, "until we are convinced that the Future Combat Systems is going to give us better lethality," said Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker. Abrams tanks will be upgraded not only so they can stay relevant for many more years but also so they can be used as test platforms for FCS, Schoomaker told National Defense following a hearing of the House Armed Services...

       The US Army has wasted billions of dollars to upgrade a few hundred tanks to the M1A2 configuration (right), and wants to spend billions to convert more.  The US Army claims that no tanks were lost to enemy fire during the Persian Gulf war, so why upgrade their anti-tank capabilities with a few gadgets which cost twice as much as the tanks themselves?  Tanks remain vital, but the US Army spends half of its operations and maintenance budget for all ground equipment to keep 5000 M1 series tanks ready for World War III with the Soviets.        There is much...

Lightly protected vehicles in Iraq such as the Humvee and the U.S. Army's new wheeled Stryker are providing far too little protection for troops and should be replaced with heartier substitutes, senior military commanders have warned. Roadside bombs, rocket-propelled grenades and heavy automatic weapons are taking their toll on lightly-armored U.S. military vehicles and, worse, on the troops riding in them – despite Pentagon efforts to beef up protection. Currently the Defense Department is hurrying to replace the thin-skinned Humvees with "up-armored" models as quickly as possible. According to the London Daily Telegraph, U.S. forces have added scrap armor plating,...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. ...................................................................................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel...

December 18, 2003: The M1 Abrams is the first and only gas turbine powered main battle tank. Similar to a helicopter gas turbine, its AGT-1500 engine is very compact and has a tremendous power to weight ratio, making the Abrams the fastest accelerating tank in the field today. Unfortunately, the Abrams' fuel consumption horribly high, about 5 gallons per mile, a number that does not go down much at idle because, unlike a diesel engine, the turbine is still turning even when the tracks are not. At the time the tank was conceived, this poor fuel consumption wasn't considered an...

WASHINGTON [MENL] -- Egypt plans to acquire an advanced tank shell from the United States. The Bush administration has approved an Egyptian request for a 120 mm armor piercing shell for its fleet of M1A1 main battle tanks. Cairo has about 600 M1A1 and plans to assemble another 150 U.S.-origin tanks in Egypt. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency said it has notified Congress of the administration's approval of the 120 mm Armor Piercing Fin Stabilized Discarding Sabot-Tracer Kinetic Energy Tungsten Advanced cartridges for Egypt. The proposed sale has been estimated at $54 million. Egypt has requested the sale of up...

WASHINGTON [MENL] -- The United States has offered the prospect of an upgrade of the Abrams tank fleet of Middle East allies. U.S. officials said the Defense Department has discussed the prospect of an upgrade of the M1A1 fleets of such countries as Egypt. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia already have the more advanced M1A2 tanks. Egypt has helped produce and assemble nearly 700 M1A1 main battle tanks. The Pentagon has awarded a $26 million contract to General Dynamics Land Systems for the retrofit of 14 M1A2 Abrams Upgrade Tanks to the M1A2 system enhancement program configuration. A Pentagon statement said...

http://www.sciscoop.com/story/2003/11/3/171841/084 The M1A1 Abrams tank is widely acknowledged to be the best tank in the world. It weighs just shy of 70 tons and much of that weight is armor to protect the vehicle and its crew. There are two main threats against a tank: HEAT (High Explosive Anti-Tank) rounds and KE (Kinetic Energy) rounds. To greatly oversimplify, HEAT rounds produce a blob of super-hot molten metal that cuts through armor like a torch; KE rounds have long, slender dart-like projectiles that punch through armor like a bullet. The structural armor of the tank is designed to stop KE rounds...

<p>Shortly before dawn on Aug. 28, an M1A1 Abrams tank on routine patrol in Baghdad “was hit by something” that crippled the 69-ton behemoth. Army officials still are puzzling over what that “something” was.</p> <p>According to an unclassified Army report, the mystery projectile punched through the vehicle’s skirt and drilled a pencil-sized hole through the hull. The hole was so small that “my little finger will not go into it,” the report’s author noted.</p>