Defense Solutions to rebuild T-72 Tanks and Other Military Vehicles for the Iraqi Army
Defense Solutions announced today that it reached agreement with the Iraq Ministry of Defense to rebuild seventy-seven T-72 main battle tanks and other military vehicles for the Army of Iraq. Defense Solutions will refurbish the tanks in Hungary under a US State Department license before NATO takes possession and ships them to Iraq.
(PRWEB) May 9, 2005 -- Defense Solutions announced today that it reached
agreement with the Iraq Ministry of Defense to rebuild seventy-seven T-72 main
battle tanks and other military vehicles for the Army of Iraq. The T-72 tanks
were donated to Iraq by the Government of Hungary. Defense Solutions will
refurbish the tanks in Hungary under a US State Department license before NATO
takes possession and ships them to Iraq.
The T-72s are the main combat
power of a new Iraqi Armor Division being created with the assistance of the US
Army.
The Soviet-designed T-72 remains one of the world’s best main
battle tanks and is comparable to the original M-1 Abrams tank fielded to US
forces beginning in 1980. The T-72s being provided to the Iraqi Army are the
original model, have not been upgraded and are no match for the highly advanced
Abrams M1A2 and the M1A2 SEP (System Enhancement Program) version used by the US
Army.
The T-72s were deactivated by the Hungarian Army at the end of the
Cold War and placed in long-term storage. Hungary, which became part of NATO in
1999, donated the tanks to Iraq with NATO approval.
Defense Solutions
will refurbish the T-72 tanks to bring them to operational condition, test fire
the main gun and other weapons systems, and conduct a cross county road test
before releasing the equipment for shipment to Iraq. The contract is expected to
take up to six months.
“When fielded, these tanks will help bring
stability to Iraq, allow the Iraqi Army to assume more responsibility for its
nation’s security and hasten the day when US forces can come home,” according to
Defense Solutions’ CEO Tim Ringgold, himself a retired US Army colonel and
former mechanized brigade commander.
About Defense Solutions,
LLC
Defense Solutions is an international project management and business
development firm serving the world-wide Defense, Homeland Security, and
Telecommunications markets. These capabilities are performed by a network of
experts that includes former flag and field grade military officers and experts
from industry, government, law enforcement, maritime security and national
politics. Defense Solutions’ team members wrote the 2002 White House Study on
Critical Infrastructure Protection, conducts strategic studies for several of
the world’s largest military contractors, and manages the Electronic Warfare
Working Group for the US Congress.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/5/prweb238009.htm