[This shows the extent to which Australian forces have become a US "foreign legion" --- the Leopard 2 appears to be both better and more suited to conditions in SE Asia and the SW Pacific than the M1.]
US slip exposes tank 'deal' By John Kerin 27jan04
A SENIOR US military commander says Australia has agreed to buy more than 100 US tanks for $780 million ($US600 million) in comments that pre-empt a deal. Defence Minister Robert Hill insisted last night that no decision had been made on a replacement for Australia's 30-year-old Leopard tanks despite negotiations entering a sensitive final phase. But the commander of the Coalition Military Assistance Training team in Iraq, Major-General Paul Eaton, said Australia had bought up to two battalions of Abrams tanks - 108 - during a media briefing on the types of armour the coalition could use to rebuild Iraqi tanks. "If you're talking about the (Abrams) M1, I think Australia just made a purchase of a couple of battalions," Major-General Eaton told a media briefing in Baghdad on January 21. "You can check the price ... (but) I think they paid something in the order of $US600 million." The Howard Government is considering three tanks to replace the ageing Leopard 1s: assorted versions of the Leopard 2, either ex-German Army A4s and A5s or newer ex-Dutch Army A6s, the M1 Abrams from the US and the Challenger 2 from Britain. The US has slashed the price of the Abrams to try to be competitive with the cheaper Leopard 2 bids, which also have the advantage of being a later generation of the tank the army currently has in service. The Challenger is understood not to be a serious contender.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/printpage/0,5942,8503434,00.html