The Australian Army has consolidated its heavy armour capabilities in Townsville, in a significant move to bolster operational readiness and align with the National Defence Strategy. This underpinned the formal establishment of D Squadron within the 2nd Cavalry Regiment (2 CAV) on January 20, a milestone for the Royal Australian Armoured Corps. On April 23, 2 CAV officially welcomed its second tank squadron at the T4 Raising Ceremony, signifying the first time in the corps’ history that a regiment has two tank and cavalry squadrons positioned in the same location. For the soldiers and officers of the regiment, their commitment to raising the new squadron will set up future successes.
The ceremony showcased the regiment’s capabilities, featuring a logistic resupply operation that was interrupted by a simulated attack, demonstrating the effective response from combat units in coordination with the main battle tanks. Lieutenant Colonel Higgins likened the regiment to its mascot, ‘Courage’, symbolising strength and vigilance. The unit mascot is the wedge-tailed eagle, a bird of prey. The other squadrons in the unit represent the eyes and ears, and now finally they have the talons of the bird of prey. D Squadron is postured to undertake further progression training throughout 2025 in preparation for its role within the Army’s armoured amphibious brigade. It also makes D Squadron the only unit in the Australian Defence Force to operate the U.S.-manufactured M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams main battle tank. The M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 (formerly M1A2C) retains the layout of the M1A2 main battle tank with the driver’s cab at the forward centre hull, turret in the middle and power pack at the rear.
“This places us as one of the first pieces on the chess board in the 3rd Brigade’s armoured realisation. We now have 36 of the world’s best tanks, complementing the combat reconnaissance vehicle capability we have,” Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Josh Higgins said.
“I’m incredibly privileged and honoured to raise the squadron with the men and women behind me, and bring this new platform into service. ,It is a huge responsibility to get it right because of the legacy it will leave, for not only me and the people that we are doing this with, but also to make sure we set up the brigade, in good order,” Officer Commanding D Squadron, Major Jodie McCart said.
The 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. The main gun fitted on the MBT is an M256 120mm smoothbore cannon, which can fire M829A4 advanced kinetic energy and advanced multi-purpose (AMP) rounds to defend armoured vehicles, personnel and low-flying aircraft. The tank features a low-profile common remotely operated weapon system (Crows) installed with a 12.7mm machine gun. A 7.62mm M240 machine gun is also mounted coaxially with the main gun.
