M1A1 AIM
| This page is about the American main battle tank M1A1 AIM. For other versions, see M1 Abrams (Family). |
Contents
Description
As new threat profiles emerged from the Cold War, the Australians recognized that their existing fleet of Centurions and Leopards for the Royal Australian Armoured Corp (RAAC) was becoming obsolete in being able to protect the crew against these threats. To provide the Australian Army with the best protection capabilities against these threats and continue fighting in a combined arms fashion, the Australian government sought to replace their existing tank fleet with 59 M1A1 AIM tanks from the United States. The M1A1 AIM ("Abrams Integrated Management") are refurbished Abrams tanks with additional sensors and communication platforms for better integration with the new information space on the battlefield. The M1A1 AIM were put into service by the Australian Army in 2007.
Introduced in Update "Danger Zone" as a squadron vehicle unlock, the M1A1 AIM presents most of the benefits of the M1A1 tank. Players benefit from the tank's upgrade to the AIM variant, with better armour array and fire control system to allow better usage of the Abrams' great specifications. While the KE-W APFSDS round's penetration values may be lower than the M1A1's M829A1, it still packs enough power to be a threat against most targets the M1A1 AIM can be expected to face.
General info
Survivability and armour
At first glance, the M1A1 AIM looks identical to post-M1A1 Abrams variants with its iconic 120 mm M256 cannon; but if there's anything that can make it different from the M1A1 and HC variant in US service, it is the AIM package. This gives better protection to the M1A1 AIM in terms of its turret and LFP where revised DU armour was installed to fit the 21st century battlefield. Thanks to its relatively large size overall, players might sometimes find that a penetrating shot does lesser damage as the shrapnel damage is mitigated by the large internal space, smaller calibre shells are the same case as well; but do not take this protection for granted since there is still the infamous "neck" by the turret where penetrating shots have possibility of taking out crew in the turret. Do also keep an eye on the LFP as well since the overall thickness is still insufficient to stop darts at its rank. Like other Abrams, it has a blowout panel at the rear of the turret for protecting the crew from an ammo detonation; make sure to clear the rear right side of the hull of ammunition as a detonation would mean an instant-kill for the crew.
Armour type:
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | ___ mm | ___ mm Top ___ mm Bottom |
___ mm | ___ - ___ mm |
| Turret | ___ - ___ mm Turret front ___ mm Gun mantlet |
___ - ___ mm | ___ - ___ mm | ___ - ___ mm |
| Cupola | ___ mm | ___ mm | ___ mm | ___ mm |
Notes:
Mobility
| Game Mode | Max Speed (km/h) | Weight (tons) | Engine power (horsepower) | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | Reverse | Stock | Upgraded | Stock | Upgraded | ||
| Arcade | 76 | 43 | 62 | 2,058 | 2,898 | 33.19 | 46.74 |
| Realistic | 69 | 39 | 1,343 | 1,519 | 21.66 | 24.5 | |
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armaments
Main armament
The M1A1 AIM is armed with the 120 mm M256 smoothbore gun, players of the M1A1 HC will soon find themselves at home as they share identical shells.
The stock round is M830 HEATFS, although it might not be effective in the late Cold War where tanks are usually equipped with ERA blocks or composite armour; be sure to take down the enemies from the sides or pick light targets as they will either be knocked out by the explosive contents or melted by the jet stream.
The researchable M830A1 MPAT shell, while having lesser explosive content and penetration, is equipped with a proximity fuze, making it effective against aforementioned targets as well as aircraft - a hit from it certainly critically damage any aircraft, if not taking them down outright.
Since there were limits from the Non-Proliferation Treaty of nuclear-related weapons, including DU rounds, RAAC received the tungsten alloy version of M829A1, the KE-W. Although it has lesser penetration compared to M829A1 at 583 mm, the "Silver Bullet" will still make short work of most armoured targets with one shot.
| 120 mm M256 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 40 | -10°/+20° | ±180° | Two-plane | 38.1 | 52.7 | 64.0 | 70.8 | 75.3 | 6.50 | 5.75 | 5.30 | 5.00 |
| Realistic | 23.8 | 28.0 | 34.0 | 37.6 | 40.0 | ||||||||
Ammunition
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | ||
| M830 | HEATFS | 480 | 480 | 480 | 480 | 480 | 480 |
| M830A1 | HEAT MP | 350 | 350 | 350 | 350 | 350 | 350 |
| KE-W | APFSDS | 583 | 579 | 569 | 556 | 542 | 528 |
| Shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg) |
Ricochet | |||||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| M830 | HEATFS | 1,140 | 13.1 | 0.05 | 0.1 | 2.36 | 65° | 72° | 77° | |||
| KE-W | APFSDS | 1,585 | 4 | - | - | - | 78° | 80° | 81° | |||
| Proximity-fused shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Arming distance (m) |
Trigger radius (m) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg) |
Ricochet | |||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| M830A1 | HEAT MP | 1,410 | 11.4 | 0.05 | 0.1 | 400 | 10 | 1.99 | 65° | 72° | 77° | |
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 35 (+5) | 18 (+22) | 1 (+39) | No |
Identical to the M1A1 and A1 HC, be sure to clear out all ammunition in the hull (5 rounds); although the Abrams has a blowout panel to save the crew from turret side shots, a solid hit on those 5 unprotected shells will cause players to quickly meet a miserable end.
Machine guns
| 12.7 mm M2HB | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Pintle (Commander) | 1,000 (200) | 575 | -9°/+65° | -160°/+180° |
| 7.62 mm M240 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Pintle (Loader) | 1,400 (200) | 941 | -9°/+65° | -77°/+135° |
| Coaxial | 10,000 (200) | 941 | N/A | N/A |
Usage in battles
The AIM plays just like its regular tech tree counterparts, meaning seasoned Abrams players will already be accustomed to its playstyle. The increased turret protection allows it to make use of hull down tactics just as effectively as the M1A1 HC and M1A2, with the 2nd generation thermal sights allowing for easier target identification and acquisition at range. It can also brawl relatively well because of its quick reactionary ability. The KE-W APFSDS round is perfectly capable of tackling its contemporaries.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Has access to 2nd generation thermal sights allowing for easier targeting especially at long range
- Also has access to 2nd generation thermals for the commander's machine gun
- Effective turret armour
- Good gun handling and reload speeds
- M830A1 allows the engagement of helicopters
- Highly effective KE-W APFSDS
Cons:
- Poor stock grind with no tier 1 APFSDS round
- Poor hull armour, easily penetrated by its contemporaries
- Raised engine deck limits firing angles when the main gun is pointed rearwards
History
The Royal Australian Armoured Corps (RAAC) had been a long time user of European tanks including British Centurions and German Leopard AS1s. However, the Royal Australian Army opted to purchase M1A1s from from the United States as the replacement of Leopards in July 2007.[1] These 59 M1A1 AIM have their DU armour removed to comply with the Non-Proliferation Treaty and were deployed in the RAAC as their new generation MBT. These tanks were planned to be upgraded in the late 2010s, and later plans include building 75 M1A2 Sep v.3 domestically with a non-DU armour package specifically for Australia by 2024 to replace these 59 M1A1 AIMs.
Media
- Skins
See also
- Related development
External links
References
| USA medium tanks | |
|---|---|
| M2 | M2 |
| M3 | M3 Lee · ▃Grant I |
| M4 | M4 · Calliope · M4A1 · M4A1 (76) W · M4A2 · M4A2 (76) W · M4A3 (105) · M4A3 (76) W · M4/T26 |
| M26 Pershing | T20 · T25 · M26 · M26 T99 · M26E1 |
| M46/47/48 Patton | M46 · M46 "Tiger" · M47 · M48A1 · T54E1 · T54E2 |
| M60 | M60 · M60A1 (AOS) · M60A1 RISE (P) · M60A2 · M60A3 TTS · M728 CEV · 120S |
| MBT-70 | MBT-70 · XM803 |
| M1 Abrams | XM1 (Chrysler) · XM1 (GM) |
| M1 Abrams · M1 KVT · IPM1 | |
| M1A1 · M1A1 HC · M1A1 Click-Bait | |
| M1A2 Abrams · M1A2 SEP · M1A2 SEP V2 | |
| Other | T95E1 |
| Australia | M1A1 AIM |
| Canada | M4A5 |
| Israel | ▃Magach 3 (ERA) · ▃Merkava Mk.1 · ▃Merkava Mk.2B · ▃Merkava Mk.3D |
| Turkey | M60 AMBT |
| Squadron ground vehicles | |
|---|---|
| USA | M901 · M1A1 AIM |
| Germany | Leopard 2 PL |
| USSR | BMP-2M · T-80UK |
| Britain | Bhishma TWMP |
| Japan | CTWV RCV |
| China | Object 122MT "MC" |
| France | CV 9035NL |
| Sweden | T 80 U |
| Israel | Magach 6B Gal |
- Ground vehicles
- USA ground vehicles
- Seventh rank ground vehicles
- Squadron ground vehicles
- Medium tanks
- Ground vehicles with composite armour
- Ground vehicles with smoke grenades
- Ground vehicles with engine smoke generating system
- Ground vehicles with night vision device
- Ground vehicles with thermal sight
- Ground vehicles with gun stabilizer
