Australia marks first tactical deployment of M1A1 tanks in amphibious exercise

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has carried out its first-ever tactical deployment of Australian Army M1A1 main battle tanks (MBTs) in an amphibious assault exercise.

A Royal Australian Navy LHD landing craft carries an M1A1 Abrams main battle tank from HMAS Canberra during an amphibious beach assault, as part of Exercise ‘Sea Explorer'. (Commonwealth of Australia/LACW Jacqueline Forrester)

The milestone was marked at Cowley Beach in North Queensland during Exercise ‘Sea Explorer', which involved about 1,800 ADF personnel.

“During Exercise Sea Explorer we were able to demonstrate our capacity to project a mechanised combat team onto land from the sea,” said commander of the Australian Army's 1st Division, Major General Jake Ellwood.

“Troops rehearsed beach landings with a range of military vehicles, including the M1A1 tank, using a variety of landing craft and with Australian Army ARH-Tiger and CH-47 Chinook helicopters in support,” he added in a 15 June ADF statement.

Royal Australian Navy (RAN) ships that were involved in the exercise were the first-of-class HMAS Canberra amphibious assault ship (L 02) and the Bay-class landing ship, Choules (L 100).

The tactical deployment of the M1A1s is a progression of the first embark trial of the same MBT type on Canberra in July 2019. In that trial, an M1A1 tank was transported from Canberra to the beach via an LCM-1E mechanised landing craft.

Canberra is one of two LHDs in service with the RAN, with the other being Adelaide