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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