Background

The M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank is arguably the most advanced tank in the world today.

In March 2004 the Australian Government announced its decision to buy fifty nine M1A 1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks after conducting lengthy trials with a number of the world's latest and best tanks.

Three years later, on the 4th March 2007, forty one M1A1 AIM SA Abrams were delivered to the 1st Armoured Regiment, following a pre-delivery shake-down at Puckapunyal, in central Victoria. By May 2007, the 1st Armoured Regiment had conducted its first Abrams live fire exercises on the Mount Bundey training grounds in the Northern Territory.

The Regiment officially accepted the Abrams into service and farewelled the Leopard AS 1 during a parade to mark the Regiment's birthday on the 7th July 2007. At this ceremony the original oil painting for this print, commissioned by Sydac (a South Australian based simulation company who supplied the Army with Abrams training simulation software), was presented to the Chief of Army.

The American Abrams, along with the British Challenger and the German Leopard 11, are of a new generation - they are as much an electronic weapon as a dispenser of shot and shell. Ballistic computers, thermal sights and laser range finders make them all weather, day and night, shoot-on-the-move platforms of deadly accuracy.

The flat sleek planes of the Abrams' low slung hull was a matter, not of aesthetics, but of practical engineering to accommodate a new kind of armour - a laminate material developed by the British called Chobham armour which offers significantly improved protection when used in thick flat slabs. During Desert Storm, seven Abrams received hits from Iraqi T-72 main gun rounds, but the Soviet shells failed to penetrate the Chobham armour and caused little damage.

The thermal sights on the Abrams allow its crew to see their opponents well before they are aware that they are being tracked and targeted. Especially at night or in dust or rain storms this capability can be a pivotal advantage.

The tremendous power of the 120mm smooth bore main gun is enhanced by computerised turret stabilisation which allows shooting on the move. It is complemented by an array of electronic sensors that acquires and feeds target and environment data to an on-board ballistics computer that controls the main gun.

Despite weighing in at 63 tonnes, the Abrams is able to achieve a speed of 63 km per hour. In this dramatic image, re-known military artist Barry Spicer, has depicted two M1A1 AIM SA Abrams of the 1st Armoured Regiment surging across the Mary River flood plains during an exercise in the Mount Bundey training area, in the remote Northern Territory. A scene enacted many times by the last generation of Leopard AS1s, as well depicted by Barry a year ago in the companion print ,"Leopard Country".

This print is dedicated to the memory of Gordon "Horatio" Nelson, ex-Recon Scout, 2nd New Zealand Division: a good friend, tutor, military historian and missed contributor to Kondor's brochure stories.

Print Specifications

Main Print:	"M1A1 AIM SA ABRAMS - A New Generation" Limited Edition Limited to 240 Prints, Certificate of Authenticity provided Full colour, 785mm (width) x 585mm (height)