Excellent deals for the USA: green light given to the sale of tanks for 2.2 billion dollars
The US State Department today approved the potential sale of 50 M1 Abrams tanks and other equipment to the Gulf nation of Bahrain, in a deal worth an estimated $2.2 billion.
The island nation, which is a close US ally in the Middle East and hosts the US Navy's 5th Fleet, has requested 50 variants of General Dynamics' Abrams M1A2 SEPv3 (Systems Enhanced Package), as well as recovery vehicles, assault, machine guns and a number of other equipment.
“The proposed sale will enhance Bahrain's ability to meet current and future threats by providing a credible force capable of deterring adversaries and providing the ability to participate in regional operations with the United States and other US partner nations” , the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency said. “Bahrain will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces.”
The M1A2 SEPv3 is currently the most advanced Abrams in operation. The US Army was planning a relatively modest upgrade to a SEPv4 variant, but in September the Army announced it was abandoning that plan to pursue a more ambitious and heavily revamped next-generation Abrams. This is the model that is currently in service not only in the USA, but also in Australia and which is also supplied to Poland.
M1A2 SEPv3
So it is very modern equipment which is usually reserved only for the most reliable allies. Nothing to do with the old vehicles sent to Ukraine to pretend to supply tanks.
Rapidly evolving threats require 21st century security solutions
Bahrain, located in the Persian Gulf off the east coast of Saudi Arabia, is the only Gulf nation to publicly support the United States in its defensive naval operation to protect against Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, called Operation Prosperity Guardian – an operation announced by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during his visit to Bahrain.
This makes them particularly exposed in an area where, on the other side of the narrow Persian Gulf, there is one of the powers most opposed to the USA and its allies, namely Iran. Hence the need for Bahrain to equip itself with modern tanks and why the USA provides them. And then the country can pay well.
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The article Great deals for the USA: green light for the sale of tanks for 2.2 billion dollars comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/ottimi-affari-per-gli-usa-dato-il-via-libera-alla-vendita-di-carri-armati-per-22-miliardi-di-dollari/ on Wed, 20 Mar 2024 07:00:09 +0000.