Editing M1 Abrams (section)

===Production starts===
[[File:M1 Abrams at the US Army Armor Center, 1983 (DA-SC-83-09878).jpg|thumb|right|Early production vehicle in 1983]]

[[Low rate initial production]] (LRIP) of the vehicle was approved in May 1979.{{sfn|Hunnicutt|2015|p=202}} In February 1982, [[General Dynamics Land Systems]] Division (GDLS) purchased Chrysler Defense, after Chrysler built over 1,000 M1s.<ref>{{cite news|title= General Dynamics buys Chrysler tank division|newspaper=The New York Times |date=20 February 1982 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1982/02/20/business/general-dynamics-buys-chrysler-tank-division.html |access-date=3 April 2017 |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170403195514/http://www.nytimes.com/1982/02/20/business/general-dynamics-buys-chrysler-tank-division.html |archive-date=3 April 2017|last1=Holusha|first1=John}}</ref>

A total of 3,273 M1 Abrams tanks were produced during 1979–1985 and first entered U.S. Army service in 1980. Production at the government-owned, GDLS-operated [[Lima Army Tank Plant]] in [[Lima, Ohio]], was joined by vehicles built at the [[Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant]] (DATP) in [[Warren, Michigan]] from 1982 to 1991 (DATP also produced the 11 preproduction models in 1978.{{sfn|Hunnicutt|2015|p=197}}).{{sfn|Hunnicutt|2015|p=216}}{{sfn|Zaloga|2019|p=16}} The U.S. Army Laboratory Command (LABCOM), under the supervision of the [[United States Army Research Laboratory]] (ARL), was also heavily involved with designing the tank with M1A1 armor resistant shells, [[M829#M829A2|M829A2]] armor-penetrating rounds, and improved weapon range.<ref>{{Cite book |title=History of the U.S. Army Research Laboratory |year=2017}}</ref>

The M1 was armed with the license-built M68A1 version of the 105&nbsp;mm Royal Ordnance L7 gun. The tank featured the first-of-its-kind [[Chobham armour|Chobham armor]]. The M1 Abrams was the first to use this advanced armor. It consisted of an arrangement of metal and ceramic plates.{{sfn|Green|Stewart|2005|p=102}} An improved model called the IPM1 was produced briefly in 1984 and contained upgrades to armor and other small improvements.