US weighs armor, anti-sniper upgrades for Iraq’s army tanks
The U.S. Army is considering equipping the Iraqi army’s M1A1 tanks with upgrades to provide greater protection from land mines and roadside bombs and to add rotating, remotely operated machine guns to attack snipers. Upgrades to the tanks built by General Dynamics Corp. also could include belly armor; lightweight reactive armor tiles; improved night-vision sensors made […]Tony Capaccio writes for Bloomberg news:
The U.S. Army is considering equipping the Iraqi army’s M1A1 tanks with upgrades to provide greater protection from land mines and roadside bombs and to add rotating, remotely operated machine guns to attack snipers. Upgrades to the tanks built by General Dynamics Corp. also could include belly armor; lightweight reactive armor tiles; improved night-vision sensors made by Waltham, Massachusetts-based Raytheon Co. (RTN) to provide 360-degree, all-weather views; and mine-clearing blades and rollers, according to an Army survey released in November. A “counter sniper/anti-material gun mount,” for example, also would contain wide-area spotlights to detect roadside or suicide-bomb vehicles.
