![]() ![]() The reports indicated that there had been little progress in solving many problems brought to light in earlier testing of the M-1, which is also known as the Abrams tank, after former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Two reports on the third and finalseries of operational tests of the new tank, along with some related documents, were made public today by the Project on Military Procurement, a private and usually critical watchdog organization that obtained the documents from Defense Department employees. The M-1 program has been one of the more controversial of recent military procurement programs, partly because of rising cost estimates and disputes over the tank's mechanical durabililty and performance. Three battalions, or 174 tanks, are now stationed in Europe. The Army has already taken delivery of 585 M-1's. The current cost of one of the tanks, including the development costs, is almost $2.8 million. The Army plans to buy 7,058 of the 60-ton M-1's over the next few years for a total cost of about $19.5 billion. M240 7.The final operational test reports on the Army's new M-1 main battle tank seem to give a mixed picture of a speedy, agile, hard-to-hit fighting machine that is still troubled by a variety of mechanical problems and is prone to break down and malfunction. A mine plow will increase the fuel consummation rate of a tank by 25 percent.30+ gallons per hour while operating at a tactical ideal. ![]()
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