The US Army has awarded a $58m contract to General Dynamics Land Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics to provide systems technical support (STS) for the Abrams tank.

Under the contract, the company will conduct engineering studies on Abrams main battle tanks to identify improvements and replace obsolete parts to maintain the tanks at high operational readiness rates.

The M1 Abrams is the main US battle tank designed to provide mobile fire power capable of destroying any opposing armoured fighting vehicle, while providing protection for its crew in any possible combat environment.

Work will be carried out at the company’s facility in Sterling Heights, Michigan. It is expected to be complete by 31 December 2011.