Australia will immediately send 49 decommissioned M1A1 Abrams tanks to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The donation of M1A1 tanks has been anticipated for a long time, especially since Ukraine sent an official request in 2023. In the meantime, the Australian fleet will be restocked by 75 Abrams in the new M1A2 SEPv3 version, ordered by the government in 2022.
Minister for Defence Industry Australia, Pat Conroy, officially announced the transfer and specified that the mentioned 49 tanks will be part of a Ukraine aid package worth 245 million Australian dollars (about 164 million USD).
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Interestingly, the current total number of M1A1 Abrams in Australia is 59 units, they were purchased in 2006 from the US Army. Donating 49 of them will make Australia the second and already the biggest donor, as the United States had previously committed 31 units of the same modification.
Worth noting, the Australian variant does not wear armor made with the use of depleted uranium, forbidden for re-exporting by the US, meaning no issues should arise in the process.
The deadlines for the transfer have not yet been disclosed. These are subject to several factors, the key one is the potential need to repair and refurbish the vehicles before sending. Though it shouldn't take too long since the last of the M1A1 Abrams tanks from the Australian armed forces was retired just this July.
Additionally, the Australian military is not going to withhold the tanks slated for Ukraine until the new M1A2 SEPv3 are received, which is very important, given that only a few replacement tanks have been delivered so far.
For a reminder, the Australian Defence Force had operated the M1A1 SA (Situational Awareness) version of Abrams. As the name suggests, it has upgraded observation and aiming devices compared to the baseline model, including the thermal imaging sight integrated into a remotely-controlled weapon station. This RCWS also serves as the commander's panoramic sight and comes with a machine gun.
Overall, the M1A1 Abrams SA is generally considered to be technologically comparable to the M1A2 SEPv2 from the 2010s. Ukraine has previously received the tanks of this modification from the United States.
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