Australian Army trains on new combat engineering vehicles

The new ABV features the M1 Abrams box-shaped hull and weighs 50 tonnes. (Commonwealth of Australia)

An initial group of Australian Army soldiers have started operations and maintenance training on the service's new General Dynamics Land Systems M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicles (ABVs) and M1110 Joint Assault Bridge (JAB) vehicles, collectively known as combat engineering vehicles.

An Australian Department of Defence (DoD) spokesperson told Janes on 25 June that a three-month training course is being conducted for the soldiers at the School of Armour in Puckapunyal and the Army School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering in Wodonga, Victoria.

“For combat engineers, this training is focused on the tactical employment of the vehicle and includes instructions on communications, driving, servicing, weapon systems, and the vehicle's specialised equipment.

“For maintainers, this training is focused on how to repair and service both [ABV and JAB] vehicle variants,” the spokesperson said.

The majority of the combat engineering vehicles will be operated by the 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment of the 3rd Brigade headquartered at the Lavarack Barracks in Townsville, Queensland, the spokesperson added.

“This capability is a key component of [the] army's combined-arms fighting system and demonstrates [the DoD's] ongoing transformation into an integrated and focused force as directed by the 2024 National Defence Strategy,” the spokesperson said.

According to the spokesperson, an initial batch of the combat engineering vehicles was delivered to the Australian Army in early 2025. However, the number of vehicles delivered and the date of delivery are unknown.