Editing M1 Abrams (section)

====Tank Urban Survival Kit====
[[File:OCPA-2005-03-09-165522.jpg|thumb|left|An M1A2 with TUSK]]

The Tank Urban Survival Kit (TUSK) is a series of improvements to the M1 Abrams intended to improve fighting ability in urban environments.<ref name=Army_TUSK_upgrades>{{cite web |url=https://www.army.mil/article/7495/modified-m1-a2-abrams-tanks-improve-safety-precision |title=Modified M1-A2 Abrams Tanks Improve Safety, Precision |date=19 February 2008 |access-date=22 July 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515232734/http://www.army.mil/article/7495/modified-m1-a2-abrams-tanks-improve-safety-precision |archive-date=15 May 2013}}</ref> Historically, urban and other close battlefields have been poor places for tanks to fight. A tank's front armor is much stronger than that on the sides, top, or rear. In an urban environment, attacks can come from any direction, and attackers can get close enough to reliably hit weak points in the tank's armor or gain sufficient elevation to hit the top armor.

Armor upgrades include reactive armor on the sides of the tank and [[slat armor]] on the rear to protect against [[rocket-propelled grenade]]s and other shaped charge warheads.{{sfn|Green|Stewart|2005|p=93}} Abrams Reactive Armor Tile (ARAT) I consists of 32 XM19 reactive armor boxes added to the sides of the tank. ARAT II consists of rounded XM32 reactive armor tiles mounted over-top the XM19 tiles.{{sfn|Zaloga|2019|p=24-25}} A [[Transparent Armor Gun Shield]] and a thermal sight system are added to the loader's top-mounted M240B 7.62&nbsp;mm machine gun,{{sfn|Zaloga|2019|p=24-25}} and a [[Kongsberg Gruppen]] Remote Weapon Turret carrying a 12.7&nbsp;mm (.50 in) caliber machine gun (again similar to that used on the Stryker) is in place of the tank commander's original 12.7&nbsp;mm (.50 in) caliber machine gun mount, wherein the commander had to expose himself to fire the weapon manually. An exterior [[telephone]] allows supporting infantry to communicate with the tank commander.{{sfn|Zaloga|2019|p=24-25}}

[[File:M1A1 Abrams with Integrated Management System new Tank Urban Survivability Kit Dec. 2007.jpg|thumb|An M1A1 Abrams with an Abrams Integrated Management System (AIM) and the Tank Urban Survivability Kit (TUSK) conducting a patrol in Baghdad, 2007.]]
In August 2006, General Dynamics Land Systems received a U.S. Army order for 505 Tank Urban Survivability Kits (TUSK) for Abrams main battle tanks supporting operations in Iraq, under a US$45&nbsp;million contract. Deliveries were expected to be completed by April 2009.<ref name="TUSK_def_update">{{cite web |url=http://defense-update.com/products/t/tusk.htm|title=Tank Urban Survivability Kit (TUSK)|access-date=11 October 2014 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141013121147/http://defense-update.com/products/t/tusk.htm |archive-date=13 October 2014}}</ref> Under a separate order, the U.S. Army awarded General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products (GDATP) US$30 million to produce reactive armor kits to equip M1A2s.<ref name="TUSK_def_update" />

Tiles will be produced at the company's reactive armor facility in Stone County Operations, [[McHenry, Mississippi]]. In December 2006, the U.S. Army added Counter Improvised Explosive Device enhancements to the M1A1 and M1A2 TUSK, awarding GDLS $11.3&nbsp;million contract, part of the $59&nbsp;million package mentioned above. In December, GDLS also received an order, amounting to around 40% of a US$48&nbsp;million order, for loader's thermal weapon sights being part of the TUSK system improvements for the M1A1 and M1A2 Abrams Tanks.<ref name="TUSK_def_update" />