Charlie.Sadadeen wrote:
> http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/8916/m1a1aussiedt4po2.jpg
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Australian_Army_bases
>
>
>
> AUSTRALIA'S newly acquired $560 million fleet of second hand scrap
> metal /Abrams tanks can be easily disabled by the latest generation
> shoulder-fired rocket launcher, a government-funded think tank has
> warned.
> second hand scrap metal repainted for the cameras
wouldn't want the truth to get in the way of a good whinge
http://www.fprado.com/armorsite/abrams.htm
"...the tank is completely remanufactured resulting in a nearly new
tank......where the entire vehicle is completely disassembled with each
component cleaned, inspected and evaluated for rebuilding,
refurbishment, or complete replacement....in a like-new, zero mileage
condition..."
> Unlike the latest US M1A2 model, the Australian variant is protected
> by ceramic plate instead of superior depleted uranium armour, the ASPI
> says in its latest report on army capability.
>
> thats why the yanks scrapped them
They were never scrapped. They were up for refurbishment and Australia
got to pick the best ones.
> "Although it provides good protection against early-model shoulder-
> fired anti-armour weapons now prevalent in the region, it is
> vulnerable to advanced Russian systems proliferating elsewhere,
> including the Middle East," it says.
pretty much anything is vulnerable to latest 'advanced Russian systems
proliferating elsewhere'
> The paper singling out the 70-tonne behemoths emerged yesterday as
> Kevin Rudd lashed the former government for wasting taxpayers' dollars
> on questionable defence purchases.
>
> "There has been billions of dollars in defence waste - in one major
> project after another. This has got to stop," he told the NSW Labor
> conference.
>
> The Abrams was always a controversial purchase, with critics claiming
> the new-generation Leopard-2 tank was Australia's best option.
[snip]
But they would have cost a lot more.
Even if they had bought Leo IIs, they would have been second hand
refurbs as well.
sheesh
rb |