At the end of July 2024, the Australian Army officially decommissioned the last of its M1A1 Abrams tanks, which were available to the 2/14th Light Cavalry Regiment based in Brisbane. The decision to replace these outdated models with the modernized M1A2 SEPv3 tanks is related to the desire of the Australian armed forces to improve their capabilities, quoted by News.bg.
Ukraine has previously publicly expressed a desire to acquire these decommissioned tanks, but the Australian government has reacted with skepticism. According to official sources, before their eventual handover to the Ukrainian armed forces, the tanks must be returned to the US for repairs and upgrades.
Ukraine's interest in M1A1 Abrams tanks is explained by the country's attempt to strengthen its defense capabilities in the context of ongoing conflicts. 31 such tanks have already been received from the USA and have entered the 47th Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This brigade is active in the western parts of the Avdeevka ruins, where it is fighting heavily, having lost up to eight tanks to Russian drones.