Kuwaiti Army - Modernization
The equipment and facilities of the Kuwaiti army, like many other armies in the region, are entirely imported, with the United States accounting for a larger share than its European rivals. The scope of US influence in this country is not limited to equipment, so that the Kuwaiti police is similar in appearance to the US police.
The armored backbone of the Kuwait Army is composed of American Abrams tanks, along with the M-84 tank, which serves as the force's second largest tank. The main armor of this force includes British Warrior fighters, Russian BMP series fighters, American M113 fighters and American Humvee tactical vehicles. The Kuwaiti Army uses American TOW, AT-4 and Russian AT-10 guided missiles in the field of anti-tank missile and missile systems. In the field of ground-to-ground systems, the Russian BM-30 rocket launcher is also available to this force.
Its first-line main battle tanks were M-84s, Yugoslav versions of the Soviet T-72 tank. The army had various models of British armored cars and armored personnel carriers (APCs). Its artillery consists of 155mm self-propelled howitzers, mainly of French manufacture. It has a large inventory of antitank missile systems of British, French, and United States origin, including the improved TOW (tube-launched, optically sighted, wire-guided) missile from the United States. It has purchased the Soviet FROG7 , a mobile battlefield missile with a range of sixty kilometers. In 1984, after the United States rejected a Kuwaiti order for Stinger shoulder-fired SAMs, Kuwait turned to Moscow for air defense weapons, purchasing SA-7 and SA-8 SAMs and ZSU-23-4 antiaircraft guns. An estimate of the postwar strength of the Kuwaiti army, published in The Military Balance, 1992-1993, revealed the devastating effect of the Persian Gulf War. The disparate ground forces, estimated to number about 8,000, were to be reconstituted into four understrength mechanized and armored brigades, a reserve brigade, and an artillery brigade. Little matériel survived the war: some tanks, APCs, and 155mm guns. Kuwait's postwar equipment orders include 200 M-84 tanks (from Yugoslavia to offset previous Yugoslav oil purchases) and eighteen self-propelled 155mm guns from France. Kuwait also has received United States, Russian, and Egyptian armored vehicles.
Kuwait’s effort to rebuild its military was extensive. Kuwait continued major acquisitions of the Patriot missile system and MlA2 tanks, and by 1995 was considering a buy of Apache and Black Hawk and M10l09A6 howitzers. Other significant events during 1995 included a Presidential Determination authroizing the sale of M829 depleted uranium ammunition to Kuwait and the fielding of the missiles (Phase III) and the AH-64A Apache helicopter. The Hawk is a mature program, fully operational and all major equipment delivered. The Apache program had additional aircraft to be dehvered in 1996.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress 10 August 2010 of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Kuwait of 209 MIM-104E PATRIOT Guidance Enhanced Missile-T (GEM-T) Missiles for an estimated cost of $900 million. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress July 20, 2012 of a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Kuwait for 60 PATRIOT Advanced Capability (PAC-3) Missiles and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support for an estimated cost of $4.2 billion. The Government of Kuwait has requested a possible sale of 60 PATRIOT Advanced Capability (PAC-3) Missiles, 4 PATRIOT radars, 4 PATRIOT Engagement Control Stations, 20 PATRIOT Launching Stations, 2 Information Coordination Centrals, 10 Electric Power Plants, communication and power equipment, personnel training and training equipment, spare and repair parts, facility design and construction, publications and technical documentation, U.S. Government and contractor technical and logistics personnel services and other related elements of program and logistics support. The estimated cost is $4.2 billion.
M1A2K
The State Department made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Kuwait for recapitalization of 218 M1A2 tanks and related equipment, support, and training. The estimated cost is $1.7 billion. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on December 12, 2016.
The Government of Kuwait has requested a possible sale in support of its recapitalization of 218 M1A2 tanks, to include two hundred and forty (240) .50 Cal M2A1 machine guns; four hundred and eighty (480) 7.62mm M240 machine guns; two hundred and forty (240) AN/VRC-92E SINCGARS radios; and one thousand and eight five (1,085) AN/PVS-7B Night Vision Goggles. Also included is the incorporation of cooling system/thermal management systems; Common Remotely Operated Weapons Station (CROWS) II – Low Profile Stabilized Weapon Stations; special armor; 120mm gun tubes; 2nd generation Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) sights; embedded diagnostics; gunner’s primary sights; Counter Sniper and Anti-Materiel Mount (CSAMM) hardware; upgrade/maintenance of engines and transmissions; depot level support; training devices; spare and repair parts; support equipment; tools and test equipment; technical data and publications; personnel training and training equipment; U.S. Government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics support. Total estimated program cost is $1.7 billion.
This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a friendly country which has been and continues to be an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East. Kuwait intends to use this equipment to recapitalize its fleet of M1A2 full track tanks in order to modernize and extend the service of the tanks. Kuwait will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces.
On 16 October 2017 the US State Department made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Kuwait for M1A1 Abrams Tanks. The estimated cost is $29 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale.
The Government of Kuwait requested a possible sale of two hundred eighteen (218) M1A1 Abrams tank hulls with 120mm cannons and two hundred eighteen (218) AGT-1500 (M1 Tank Series) engines in support of its M1A2 tank recapitalization. Also included are transportation and other logistics support. The estimated cost is $29 million. This proposed sale would contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a friendly country. Kuwait plays a large role in U.S. efforts to advance stability in the Middle East, providing basing, access, and transit for U.S. forces in the region.
This potential sale is associated with Congressional Notification 16-66 which was notified to Congress on December 12, 2016, regarding recapitalization of 218 Kuwait M1A2 tanks. Subsequent to the notification, Kuwait requested 218 M1A1 tank hulls from U.S. inventory be provided and upgraded vice using Kuwait’s current fleet of tanks due to its interest in maintaining operational readiness. Kuwait would have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces. The proposed sale of this equipment and support would not alter the basic military balance in the region. The M1A1 tank hulls would come from U.S. inventory. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.
On December 19, 2017, the US Department of Defense announced that General Dynamics Land Systems had been awarded a $24,272,649 modification to a foreign military sales contract for Kuwait to design, develop, and build an M1A2K unique main battle tank. Work was expected to be completed by December 2019.
On 28 July 2020 the US State Department made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Kuwait of various M1A2K training ammunition and related equipment for an estimated cost of $59.6 million. The Government of Kuwait requested to buy ten thousand two hundred sixty (10,260) 120MM M865 Target Practice Cone Stabilized Discarding Sabot Tracer (TPCSDS-T) Cartridges and nine thousand eight hundred ten (9,810) 120MM M1002 Target Practice Multipurpose Tracer (TPMP-T) Cartridges.
A delegation of Kuwait’s army attended an official ceremony 29 July 2021 to receive the M1A2K tank in the US, on behalf of Chief of Staff of the Kuwait Armed Forces yesterday. The delegation was headed by assistant Commander of Land Forces Brigadier Abdullah Al-Jabaa and other senior officers, said the Ministry of Defense. The tank is the newest and has the most recent technologies in the defense industry, and it will boost the fighting abilities of the Kuwaiti army, it added.
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