The U.S. State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Bahrain of M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tanks and related equipment for an estimated cost of $2.2 billion. This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to improve the security of a Major Non-NATO Ally that is an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East. The proposed sale will improve Bahrain’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing a credible force that can deter adversaries and provide the capability to participate in regional operations with the United States and other U.S. partner nations. Bahrain will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces. The principal contractors will be General Dynamics Land Systems, Sterling Heights, MI; BAE Systems, York, PA; Leonardo DRS, Arlington, VA; Honeywell Aerospace, Phoenix, AZ; RTX Corporation, McKinney, TX; and Lockheed Martin, Orlando, FL. The purchaser typically requests offsets.
The Government of Bahrain has requested to buy 50 M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams Main Battle Tanks; 4 M88A2 HERCULES Combat Recovery Vehicles; 8 M1110 Joint Assault Bridges; 8 M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicles; 8 Heavy Assault Scissor Bridge (HASB); 100 M240 Coaxial 7.62mm machine guns; 3 AGT1500 Gas Turbine engines; 6,000 120mm M1002 Target Practice Multipurpose Tracer (TPMP-T) projectiles; and 5,760 120mm M1147 High Explosive Multipurpose Tracers. Also included are M2A1 .50 caliber machine guns; Common Remote Operated Weapons Station Low Profile (CROWS-LP); Forward Repair System; M250 smoke grenade launchers; service and training ammunition; M1300/M1302 Enhanced Heavy Equipment Transporter System (EHETS); M978A4 Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) tanker and Load Handling System (LHS); M074A1 Palletized Load Systems and trailers and flat racks; Special Tools and Test Equipment (STTE); communications equipment; Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM)-based Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers; Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) equipment and other related elements of logistics support.
The M1 Abrams is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. The M1 Abrams entered service in 1980 and serves as the main battle tank of the United States Army. M1A2 SEPv3 has increased power generation and distribution, better communications and networking, new Vehicle Health Management System (VHMS) and Line Replaceable Modules (LRMs) for improved maintenance, an Ammunition DataLink (ADL) to use airburst rounds, improved counter-IED armor package, Next Generation Armor Package (NGAP), and an Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) under armor to run electronics while stationary instead of the engine, visually distinguishing the version by a small exhaust at the left rear. More passive ballistic protection added to the turret faces, along with new Explosive Reactive Armor mountings (Abrams Reactive Armor Tile (ARAT)) and Trophy Active Protection systems added to the turret sides. Prototypes began testing in 2015.
The M88 Recovery Vehicle is one of the largest armored recovery vehicles (ARV) in use by United States Armed Forces. There are three variants, the M88, the M88A1, and the M88A2 HERCULES (Heavy Equipment Recovery Combat Utility Lifting Extraction System). HERCULES offers operational and logistics commonality with the existing M88A1 fleet, simplifying training and parts availability. The M1074 Joint Assault Bridge System (JAB, JABS) is an American armored military engineering vehicle based on the Abrams M1A1 main battle tank chassis. The JAB is built on an M1 Abrams tank chassis and features a hydraulic launching mechanism for deploying the Heavy Assault Scissor Bridge, which is capable of extending across gaps and trenches on the battlefield. It measures approximately 60 feet wide. The M1074 was designed by Leonardo DRS for the U.S. Army and Marine Corps to provide deployable bridge capability for units engaged in military operations. The M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) is a U.S. military mine- and explosives-clearing vehicle, based on the M1 Abrams chassis, equipped with a mine plow and line charges.
