M1A2: Production
began in 1992 (77 built for the US and more than 600 M1s
upgraded to M1A2, 315 for Saudi Arabia, 218 for Kuwait).
The M1A2 offers the tank commander an independent thermal
sight and ability to, in rapid sequence, shoot at two
targets without the need to acquire each one sequentially,
also 2nd generation depleted uranium armor mesh.
This
contract is an addition to a $58 million contract awarded
in 2008, and modified in 2009, for General Dynamics to
design, develop, convert, implement and test a hybrid
configuration of the M1A1, M1A2 and M1A2 System Enhancement
Package (SEP) tank variants for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The 2009 award of $17.6 million was for the purchase of
long lead materials for the 15-tank conversion.