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Subject: M1A1M vs M1A2
RaptorZ    6/30/2009 3:46:30 PM
I am way behind on the news of this I know, but in looking at pics today I saw Iraq had Abram's. I also noticed after trying to researc the difference between what we have in the US and what we've sold that 3 other countries have the M1A1M. My question, and you needn't go into great specifics, but what is the difference between what we sell and what we use in the US? My other question is if we had to go back in vs a country that has those, can we still do what we did? The first gulf war showed the vast difference between our tanks and the T-72's (I think that's what they were) The Challengers also fared well against the T's. Also, if there's spies, which Im sure there are, what info or tactical advantage could we lose by selling this to our friends, and I use that term somewhat loosely, I still don't know if Iraq is friendly with us...we shall see but that's an entirely different conversation.

Thanks
 
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RaptorZ       6/30/2009 3:48:32 PM
Eek, sorry for all those similar posts, it said it wasn't taking please delete 2 of them....
 
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RaptorZ       7/7/2009 12:41:26 AM
Perhaps my question was stupid....it's ok you can let me know if it is....I was just trying to understand.  
 
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Herald12345       7/7/2009 12:53:56 AM

Perhaps my question was stupid....it's ok you can let me know if it is....I was just trying to understand.  
Its not a stupid question, its just I DON'T KNOW.

Herald
 
 
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Beryoza       7/7/2009 2:32:15 AM
I would say that the major difference between the American Abrams tanks and those destined for export is in the use of depleted uranium (DU) and in the comms.
 
All operational US M-1A1s have the heavy armour (HA) package (as far as I'm aware, anyone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) which incorporates DU plates accross the front third of the vehicle. Additionally, the M829 series, the standard US penetrator (i.e. APFSDS-T ammunition) is made of DU, which is not exported.
 
The communications gear (radios, blue force tracker, etc) is also customized for smooth operation with the other American armed services (ie USAF/USMC), and it would be reasonable to expect that export variants would not be fitted to the same standard, although I'm just speculating.
 
Export M1s use tungsten alloy penetrators (eg KEW-I/II for Egypt, based on the German DM-43 series round that was developed for the Leopard 2) and feature different armour packages, although I don't know much about their content.
 
Hope that helps
 
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Zad Fnark       7/7/2009 10:54:04 AM

Dumb physics question...

One of the properties of DU sabot rounds is that it's pyrophoric.  Does this have a negative impact using it in the armor makeup.

ZF-

 
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Beryoza       7/7/2009 6:50:32 PM
I would think that the pyrophoric properties would present a considerable risk in the event of penetration, but this can be minimized by incorporating liners for the individual plates.
 
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Zad Fnark       7/8/2009 6:50:24 AM
Yeah, I figure it's mostly moot if the round doesn't get through.  But eventually, something will come along that will.  I don't know if it would lead to something similar to the M4's exposed ammo situation.
 
ZF-
 
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Basilisk Station       7/8/2009 1:20:58 PM

Yeah, I figure it's mostly moot if the round doesn't get through.  But eventually, something will come along that will.  I don't know if it would lead to something similar to the M4's exposed ammo situation.

 

ZF-


Basically if you have something penetrating through the DU armor with substantial energy left, you have far, far bigger problems than anything the properties of DU would cause. I'm certain that it is something that was looked at and they made the decision that the additional survivability outweighed any additional problems. I'm also not entirely convinced that the behavior of the DU is going to be the same in both situations in any case.
 
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