The cure was straightforward and effective, but, honestly, we have lived with this complaint ever since. We went to the test with a faulty seal. The U.S. Army is very hard on tank tracks. They explain the difference by correctly suggesting that the Army drives their tanks into some very rough terrain, unlike the company testing areas. The Army will switch to the new track for all of its M1's and M1A1's.
Nothing is taken for granted.
Improvements in the Abrams are part of an ongoing development process shared by both General Dynamics and the U.S. Army. Three thousand of the next 12000 M1A1's will be fitted with new depleated-uranium armour furnished by the U.S. Army. A transverse mounted engine is under consideration and new periscopes and other accoutrements are being evaluated. The M1A1's YAG laser will soon be replaced with a CO2 laser for range finding. The new CO2 laser should be installed in the time frame of the Canadian tank acquisition project.