For those that like to keep track of the various armored vehicles on public display in the US, the M60 MBT on display outside the VFW on Route 104 in the town of Hannibal NY is due to be relocated. According to an article in the Buffalo News, a location near the Town Hall was considered, but the final destination for the vehicle has yet to be determined.
A few details remain before West Seneca adds a U.S. Army tank on the Town Hall campus, including where it will go.
Plans show the tank, which saw action in the Middle East, displayed between Town Hall and the West Seneca Library in the Walkway of Freedom complex, once construction on the library addition and renovation are completed.
But Supervisor Sheila Meegan said Monday the proposed spot for the tank might be too close to Town Hall.
“I think we’ll discuss putting the tank on the hill,” she said. “Right now it doesn’t look like the tank will work out.”
“The plan was always to put it in front of Town Hall,” said Jim Manley, chairman of the West Seneca Veterans Committee. “There’s plenty of room out there.”
Read the full Buffalo News article here.
While the article does not note the model of the tank, it appears to be an M60A3 based on the photos of the vehicle available here.
ANKARA—The Turkish government has officially launched a competition for the upgrade of a batch of 200 German- and US-made battle tanks in the army’s inventory, a contract that analysts estimate to be worth roughly $500 million. Five Turkish companies placed their upgrade bids on Jan. 23. The local bidders are: military electronics specialist Aselsan, Turkey’s biggest defense company; missile-maker Roketsan; and armored vehicles manufacturers BMC, Otokar and FNSS. Aselsan and Roketsan are state-controlled companies; BMC, Otokar and FNSS are privately owned.
Military cooperation between China and Thailand, the oldest U.S. Asian ally, has deepened somewhat in the past few years amid a downturn in U.S.-Thai relations over rights concerns following the May 2014 coup. Since then, there have been some notable developments, including a first-ever joint air force exercise, planned purchases of equipment from tanks to submarines, as well as discussions about a joint military production facility to advance defense industry cooperation.
ANKARA, Turkey — Growing political tensions between Ankara and Vienna in recent months have resulted in the termination of an otherwise prospective deal between a Turkish and an Austrian company, both engine specialists. In October 2015, TUMOSAN, a privately owned Turkish engine maker, signed a deal with AVL List, an Austrian firm, for technical support for the engine that the Turkish company had been commissioned to develop. Under the deal, TUMOSAN would get technical support from AVL for the power unit of the Altay, Turkey’s first indigenous, new-generation main battle tank in the making. AVL also would provide know-how for the integration of the engine to the tank.
The Royal Netherlands Army (RNLA) has outlined plans to upgrade a number of its armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) in order to extend their operational lives and enhance capabilities. Details were given by Colonel Eric Molenaar, Head of Material, Army Staff of the RNLA, at the IQPC International Armoured Vehicles 2017 conference held in London from 23 to 26 January. The RNLA is set to upgrade at least part of its CV9035NL fleet in two phases. Under Phase 1, 44 vehicles will be fitted with a hard-kill defensive-aid suite (DAS) under the leadership of BAE Systems Hägglunds.
Jan. 31 The U.S. Army will send M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks to the Baltic states of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania along Russia’s borders ahead of a NATO operation in the spring. The tanks participated in joint drills between U.S. and Polish forces but some are being moved to the Baltic states to await a deterrence operation set to reassure the United States’ European allies that Washington, D.C., is committed to their defense, The Wall Street Journal reported. German troops are also arriving in Lithuania, British troops are reinforcing positions in Estonia and Canadian troops are being sent to Latvia.
Further details have emerged about India’s plans for the main battle tank (MBT) element of the Future Ready Combat Vehicle (FRCV) programme. Requirements for the main armament, powerpack, and mission systems have been revealed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Speaking at the International Armoured Vehicles 2017 conference in London, Dr U. Solomon of the DRDO’s Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE) highlighted some of the new requirements for the MBT design, which is intended to replace the Indian Army’s fleet of T-72M1 ‘Ajeya’ MBTs and is scheduled to enter service from the early 2020s.
The Sheridan’s service in Vietnam ended with the withdrawal of the last Armored Cavalry Regiments in 1972, and the Army began phasing the complicated vehicles out of the cavalry units by the late 1970s. However, they remained in airborne formations for lack of a replacement, and were upgraded the M551A1 TTS model with an effective thermal sight for night combat. In 1989, eight to ten Sheridans of the Third Battalion of the Seventy-Third Armored were used in the first and only parachute drop of U.S. tanks into combat by C-130 transports onto Torrijos/Tocumen Airfield.
Tank and AFV News 