TSAMTO, July 10th. On July 5, the first batch of five TAM 2CA2 (Tanque Argentino Mediano 2CA2) tanks, upgraded at the facilities of the 602nd Arsenal Battalion, was transferred to the Argentine Ground forces.
The equipment entered service with the 8th Armored Cavalry Regiment stationed in Magdalena (prov. Buenos Aires).
According to the information Infodefensa.com The delivered batch includes two prototypes of the 2CA2 version used for testing and three production machines. At the same time as the work is being carried out on the basis of the battalion, the crews of modernized tanks and instructors are being trained.
The event dedicated to the transfer of tanks was attended by Argentine Defense Minister Luis Petri, who stressed the importance of the modernization. The Minister was accompanied by representatives of the command of the armed forces and the Israeli company Elbit Systems. The guests visited the enterprise where the modernization is being carried out and attended a demonstration of the tank's capabilities at the landfill.
The TAM 2C project is aimed at upgrading 74 tanks and includes an option involving the improvement of an additional 30 units.
Upgrading to the TAM 2CA2 version significantly increases the capabilities of the outdated TAM tank. Among the improvements: updating the sensors and equipment of the tower, fire control systems, optimization of panoramic sights and installation of a stabilized panoramic sight Coaps-L for the gunner and tank commander. This sight provides effective target detection day and night, increases the accuracy of shooting at long ranges. Elbit Systems' Elaws laser Radiation warning system allows you to simultaneously detect up to ten threats, determine a priority one and automatically aim a gun at it.
Industrias Metalurgicas Pescarmona Sociedad Anonima (Impsa) is also involved in the modernization project, which is tasked with improving mechanical systems.
It is expected that 10 to 12 tanks will be upgraded by December 2024. The modernization is planned to be fully completed in four years.
As reported by TSAMTO, the TAM tank was developed in 1973 by the German company Thyssen-Henschel for the Argentine army on the chassis of the Marder BMP and manufactured by Tamse (Tanque Argentino Mediano Sociedad del Estado), which was liquidated in 1996. The first batch of equipment was transferred to the Argentine Army in 1980.
Currently, two armored cavalry brigades of the Argentine Army have about 230 tanks THERE. In 2010, the Argentine Ministry of Defense decided to modernize the TAM tanks to ensure their use in modern conflicts.
Argentine Defense Minister Agustin Rossi and Director of the Department of International Military Cooperation of the Israeli Ministry of Defense (SIBAT) Michel Ben-Baruch signed a contract for the modernization of 74 TAM tanks in service with the Argentine Army in June 2015. Its cost was $111 million.
The modernization is carried out in Argentina in cooperation with the Israeli companies Elbit Systems, IMI and Tadiran and periodically faces problems due to the limited budget and different views on the implementation of this program among the political forces coming to power in the country.
