The U.S. Department of State has approved a possible foreign military sale to Egypt of 56,000 tank rounds for training and equipping its M1A1 Abrams tank fleet and operations against Islamic State, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said.
Egypt has been a co-producer of the M1A1 Abrams main battle tank since the 1980s.
“The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Egypt of forty-six thousand (46,000) M831A1 and M865 rounds and ten thousand (10,000) APFSDS-T rounds for an estimated cost of $99 million,” the Monday, September 17 press release said.
Egypt has been producing this type of ammunition under an existing co-production agreement for approximately 15 years.
Also included in the request are 4,500 120mm Insensitive Munitions High Explosive with Tracer (IM HE-T) tank rounds, which will be used in support of the Egyptian Army’s operations against Islamic State in the Sinai, DSCA added.
The estimated cost is $99 million and General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems will be the prime contractor.
The M831A1 and M865 120mm rounds are used for target practice while the A4 Armor-Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot with Tracer (APFSDS-T) rounds are specifically modeled for the Abrams M1A1 and M1A2 tanks’ 120mm M256 main gun.
The A4 variant is a fifth-generation projectile that utilizes an updated blend of propellant to maintain consistent muzzle velocities across operational temperatures from extreme cold through extreme heat, according to the U.S. Army.
The new munitions will replace Egypt’s older model 120MM KE-W, KE-W Al, and KE-W A2 ammunition.