More U.S. Army M1A1 Abrams tanks are being modernized by General Dynamics Land Systems under a contract from the Army's TACOM Lifecycle Management Command.
The work is worth $49.7 million and comes under a multi-year contract awarded in 2008, which authorized the upgrade of 435 M1A1 tanks.
The M1A1 tanks are to be upgraded to thee M1A2 Systems Enhancement Package, or SEP, V2 configuration, which includes enhanced color displays and day and night thermal management system.
General Dynamics Land Systems said the new modernization work will be performed at facilities in Alabama, Florida, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania and will be completed by January of 2017. The number of tanks to be converted under the order, however, was not revealed.
The M1A1 has been produced since 1985 and comes in a number of variants. It has a speed of 41.5 miles per hour and has a range of 288 miles. Its main armament is a 120mm smoothbore gun.