Outdated Abrams tanks are going to be upgraded in Egypt

The Egyptian ground forces can currently be called the largest operator of Abrams main battle tanks after the United States. In total, according to various sources, there are more than 1,100 units of this equipment in the troops.

Information about the deliveries of the M1A1 and the beginning of their assembly in this North African country appeared back in 1988.

As a production site, the now well-known plant No. 200 in Heluan, built by the Americans four years earlier to service the supplied M60, was expected to be chosen.

The first combat vehicles entered the army in 1992, at first they were assembled from components and assemblies delivered from overseas. Over time, the number of locally produced components began to grow, and in the second decade of the new century, most of them were already produced in AR.

Despite the fact that the M1A1 was significantly superior to the old Soviet and American tanks previously available to the Egyptians, over time, in terms of their tactical and technical characteristics, they increasingly began to yield to the Merkava Mk4 produced in Israel and the T-90S purchased by some Arab countries. As blogger Mahmoud Gamal notes, it is therefore not surprising that during the recent Cairo International Exhibition of the Defense Industry and Armaments EDEX-2021, the issue of upgrading these Abrams to the M1A2 level was discussed.

There are no other details yet, but it can be assumed that the tanks will receive more modern sights, including panoramic ones for commanders, with improved thermal imaging channels.

Remote-controlled 12.7 mm anti-aircraft machine guns will appear on the roofs of the towers. New means of communication and orientation, other systems used on the latest versions of overseas cars will be introduced.

Also at EDEX-2021 [...], information was announced about the possible assembly of South Korean K2 Black Panther tanks in the future.

Alexey Moiseev