Fed: Cosgrove says tanks not too heavy for transport

AAP General News (Australia)
12-15-2003
Fed: Cosgrove says tanks not too heavy for transport

CANBERRA, Dec 15 AAP - Defence chief General Peter Cosgrove today rejected claims that
proposed new army tanks would be too heavy to be transported around the country or overseas.

General Cosgrove said those who claimed some of the tanks were too big to be transported
by existing systems had not done their homework.

He said issues of mobility had been considered and were not regarded as a problem.

"We can move them on rail cars. We can move them around the north where they presumably
would be based. We can move them on and off our ships," he told a parliamentary committee.

"We can't move them in our aeroplanes but that's alright. We couldn't move the Leopard
in our aeroplanes. So we would have to do what we do now if we needed to move them by
aeroplanes and that is look elsewhere.

"So in all of the important questions of mobility we have had a look at those sorts
of issues and we can do the job."

Defence Minister Robert Hill announced last month the army's ageing Leopards would
be replaced with a more modern design.

Under consideration is the US-made M1A1 Abrams, British Challenger and German Leopard
2. The Abrams is regarded as the favourite, but all are substantially heavier than the
current Leopards.

General Cosgrove said he was sure he could find underpasses or bridges around Australia
on which the new tanks could not be used.

"But the mind boggles at the thought that they might need to be transported that way," he said.

General Cosgrove said newer tanks were needed because the Leopards could no longer
provide adequate protection against widely used anti-armour weapons.

As well, the Leopards were getting old and expensive to maintain.

He said interoperability with allies was a consideration but not the most important issue.

"We understood that putting the armoured force with tanks that are outdated and vulnerable
into any kind of even regional situation where anti-armour weapons proliferate ... could
create a point of vulnerability in that the tanks themselves could be readily knocked
out," he said.

"Interoperability is a factor, but it's a factor that follows rather than leads in
the issue of whether or not tank A or B or C is best for our purposes."

AAP mb/sb/cjh/jlw ,

KEYWORD: TANKS

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