M1A2 TUSK

M1A2 TUSK
Faction	- USMC - U.S. Army
Type	Main Battle Tank
Seats	4 seats: 1× Driver 1× Gunner 1× Commander 1× Loader
Item capacity	Max: 10× Weapons 100× Magazines
Top speed	72 km/h
Fuel capacity	1000 L
Primary armament	Main: 1× M256 120 mm
Secondary armament	Secondary: 1× M2 .50 HMG 1× M240 GPMG 7.62 mm Coaxial: 1× M240 GPMG 7.62 mm Defensive: 1× Smoke Generator
Variants	M1A1
Games

The M1A2 TUSK is a variant of the U.S. Marine/U.S. Army M1A1 Main Battle Tank.

Overview

• Role:
  • Direct fire and maneuver

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The M1A1, famous for its role in the Gulf Wars, is the United States’ primary Main Battle Tank. The M1A1 features an M256 smoothbore cannon capable of firing an armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS) round with a depleted uranium penetrator. This one is upgraded with TUSK (Tank Urban Survival Kit) allowing for greater survivability in urban terrain. Armoury Description

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Design

Outwardly similar in appearance to the M1A1, the M1A2 is an upgraded model of the basic M1A1 design and is one of the most modern MBTs in the world.

Armament
In terms of main armament, the M1A2 is mostly identical to the baseline M1A1. It does however, sport an additional pintle-mounted medium machine gun fitted to a third crewman hatch on top of the turret. The commander's heavy machine gun mount has also been replaced with a CROWS turret that has improved optics and greater clearance.

The standard loadout of the M1A2 gives it 20 rounds of armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS) and 20 rounds of high-explosive (HE) shells for the main gun. The coaxial M240 is loaded with a single 1,200 round 7.62 mm belt, while the loader's M240 is fed from a 100 round belt box and has three more boxes spare. The CROWS M2 HMG on the other hand, is pre-loaded with a 100 round belt box of .50 cal ammunition and has another four boxes in reserve.

The M1A2 works well as a breaching vehicle for clearing houses when working alongside dismounted infantry units in heavily built-up areas.

Features
Alongside the M1A1, the M1A2 TUSK is essentially one of the two, if not the most powerful ground vehicle in ArmA 2. It outclasses every other ground vehicle in-game not only in terms of firepower, but when it comes to mobility and protection as well.

Due in large part to being fitted with the Tank Urban Survival Kit (TUSK) module which reinforces several exposed components of the M1A2 with Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA) blocks, the M1A2's tolerance for punishment is unparalleled; multiple successive anti-tank missiles will be required to merely disable the M1A2 and not even be able to destroy it.

Mobility
Like the M1A1, the M1A2 also shares the same traits when it comes to handling. It accelerates very rapidly and can be driven faster than any other MBT while also being able to conduct pinpoint turns with ease.

Crew Capacity
The M1A2 has a seating capacity of four personnel for a crew consisting of the driver, gunner, the commander, and a loader.

Camouflage

• Woodland: Three-colour woodland paint scheme. Used by USMC M1A2s.
• Desert: Flat desert sand/desert tan paint scheme. Used by U.S. Army M1A2s.

Trivia

• The M1A2's loader position is notorious for being unable to turn in even during combat.
  • While they are still protected from small arms fire due to the gunshield, it only covers the front (assuming the loader is facing towards the direction of the incoming fire) and are still rendered vulnerable to larger calibre weapons and explosions which can bypass the gunshield.
• Both the M1A2 TUSK and the M1A1's gunner and commander optics were "upgraded" with the ability to use thermal optics after the release of the Operation Arrowhead expansion pack.
• Interestingly, leftover text strings (String name: str_dn_m1a2mk19) and unused model definitions in the game files show that there was originally meant to be different variants of the M1A2 to be included in ArmA 2 on release.
  • Along with the standard M2/M240 loadout, this variant was presumably meant to be armed with a MK19 automatic grenade launcher either in the loader's pintle or mounted onto the CROWS turret. However, neither the models nor config references exist in the game files anymore.
• In reality, the U.S. Marine Corps only operates the M1A1 variant of the Abrams family; specifically both the older "M1A1HC" (Heavy Common) and newer "M1A1FEP" (Firepower Enhancement Package) models. Only the U.S. Army and certain foreign countries allied to the United States actually have the M1A2 commissioned for service.

Gallery

USMC M1A1 (left) and M1A2 TUSK (right) side-by-side.

U.S. Army M1A2 operating in Takistan.

External links

• Wikipedia: M1 Abrams

See also

Variants

• M1A1

Vehicles of comparable role and configuration

• T-90 (Russian Armed Forces counterpart)
• M2A4 Slammer UP (NATO successor, ArmA 3 only)