Editing M1 Abrams (section)

====Strategic====
[[File:DF-SD-06-12692.jpg|thumb|A U.S. Army M1A1 after being offloaded from a U.S. Air Force [[C-17 Globemaster III|C-17]] at [[Balad Air Base]], Iraq in 2004]]
[[File:M1 strategic mobility.jpg|thumb|A Marine M1A1 offloading from a [[Landing Craft Air Cushioned]] vehicle]]

Strategic mobility is the ability of the tanks of an armed force to arrive in a timely, cost effective, and synchronized fashion. The Abrams can be carried by a [[C-5 Galaxy]] or a [[C-17 Globemaster III]]. The limited capacity (two combat-ready tanks in a C-5, one combat-ready tank in a C-17) caused serious logistical problems when deploying the tanks for the first Gulf War, though there was enough time for 1,848 tanks to be transported by ship.

The Marines transported their [[Marine Air-Ground Task Force]] Abrams tanks by combat ship. A ''[[Wasp class amphibious assault ship|Wasp]]''-class [[Landing Helicopter Dock]] (LHD) typically carried a platoon of four to five tanks attached to the deployed [[Marine Expeditionary Unit]], which were then amphibiously transported to shore by [[Landing Craft Air Cushion]] (LCAC) at one combat-ready tank per landing craft.

The Abrams is also transportable by truck, namely the [[Oshkosh M1070]] and M1000 [[Heavy Equipment Transporter System]] (HETS) for the US Military. The HETS can operate on highways, secondary roads, and cross-country. It accommodates the four tank crew members.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.army.mil/factfiles/equipment/wheeled/m1070.html |title=M1070 Heavy Equipment Transporter (HET) Fact File United States Army |publisher=Army.mil |access-date=30 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706020118/http://www.army.mil/factfiles/equipment/wheeled/m1070.html |archive-date=6 July 2010}}</ref> The Australian Army uses customized [[MAN SE|MAN]] trucks to transport its Abrams.<ref>{{cite news |title=Enter the Abrams |url=https://www.australiandefence.com.au/D4B755E0-F806-11DD-8DFE0050568C22C9 |access-date=31 August 2021 |work=Australian Defence Magazine |date=10 January 2008 |language=en |archive-date=31 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831233756/https://www.australiandefence.com.au/D4B755E0-F806-11DD-8DFE0050568C22C9 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The first instance of the Abrams being airlifted directly into a battlefield occurred in October 1993. Following the [[Battle of Mogadishu (1993)|Battle of Mogadishu]], 18 M1 tanks were airlifted by C-5 aircraft to Somalia from [[Hunter Army Airfield]], Georgia.<ref>{{cite news |last=Haulman |first=Daniel L. |title=The United States Air Force In Somalia, 1992–1995 |url=http://www.dafhistory.af.mil/Portals/16/documents/Airmen-at-War/Haulman-USAFSomalia1992-1995.pdf?ver%3D2016-08-22-131410-337&usg=AFQjCNFCsGZTGkPjFg1zB2quBMa5EMKI-A |access-date=28 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170928193337/http://www.afhra.af.mil/Portals/16/documents/Airmen-at-War/Haulman-USAFSomalia1992-1995.pdf?ver%3D2016-08-22-131410-337&usg=AFQjCNFCsGZTGkPjFg1zB2quBMa5EMKI-A |archive-date=28 September 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Leland |first=John W. |title=The Chronological History Of The C-5 Galaxy |url=https://www.amc.af.mil/Portals/12/documents/AFD-131018-052.pdf |work=? |access-date=29 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010084126/http://www.amc.af.mil/Portals/12/documents/AFD-131018-052.pdf |archive-date=10 October 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>