As new threat profiles emerged from the Cold War, the Australians recognised that their existing fleet of Centurions and Leopards in the Royal Australian Armoured Corps (RAAC) was becoming obsolete and was no longer able to protect their crews against these threats. To provide the Australian Army with the best possible protection against these threats and to continue fighting in a combined arms environment, the Australian government sought to replace its existing tank fleet with 59 M1A1 AIM tanks from the United States. The M1A1 AIM ("Abrams Integrated Management") are refurbished Abrams tanks equipped with additional sensors and communication systems for better integration into the modern battlefield information environment. The M1A1 AIM entered service with the Australian Army in 2007.

Introduced in Update 2.57 "Heavy Cavalry" as a British squadron vehicle, the Australian M1A1 is identical to its counterpart in the American tech tree aside from visual differences. It offers most of the benefits of the M1A1 tank. Players benefit from the tank's upgrade to the AIM variant, featuring an improved armour array and fire control system that make better use of the Abrams' excellent capabilities. While the KE-W APFSDS round has lower penetration values than the M1A1's M829A1, it still packs enough power to pose a threat to most targets the M1A1 AIM can be expected to face.