The US State Department has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to Bahrain of M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks (MBTs) and related vehicles and equipment, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced on 19 March 2024.
The proposed sale, which is estimated to be worth USD 2.2 billion (EUR 2.03 billion), has been passed to the US Congress for final approval.
Bahrain has requested to buy 50 M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams MBTs, four M88A2 Hercules combat recovery vehicles, eight M1110 Joint Assault Bridges, eight M1150 assault breacher vehicles and eight Heavy Assault Scissor Bridges (HASBs).
The Royal Bahraini Army’s current MBT fleet comprises around 100 M60A3s received from 1987 (with 80 more in store).
Also requested by Bahrain were 100 M240 coaxial 7.62 mm machine guns; three AGT1500 gas turbine engines; 6,000 120 mm M1002 target practice multi-purpose tracer projectiles and 5,760 120 mm M1147 high explosive multi-purpose tracers.
Additional equipment covered by the purchase includes M2A1 .50 cal machine guns; Common Remote Operated Weapons Stations – Low Profile (CROWS-LP); forward repair systems; M250 smoke grenade launchers; service and training ammunition; M1300/M1302 Enhanced Heavy Equipment Transporter Systems (EHETS); M978A4 Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) tankers and Load Handling Systems; M074A1 Palletized Load Systems and trailers and flat racks; support and test equipment; spares and tools; and various aspects of engineering, technical, logistics and programme support.
The DSCA stated that the proposed sale “will improve Bahrain’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing a credible force that can deter adversaries and provide the capability to participate in regional operations with the United States and other US partner nations”.
The principal contractors for the sale will be General Dynamics Land Systems out of its facilities in Sterling Heights, Michegan; BAE Systems out of its site in York, Pennsylvania; Leonardo DRS out of Arlington, Virginia; Honeywell Aerospace out of Phoenix, Arizona; RTX Corporation out of McKinney, Texas; and Lockheed Martin out of Orlando, Florida.
