"The army is not and has no plans to permanently close the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center, JSMC. Army officials are planning to end U.S. Army tank production in the JSMC from 2015 to 2016 because the U.S. Army has built all of the tanks that the troops need, given the current army force structure, which dictates how many vehicles it needs in active and reserve units as well as contingency storage in case the vehicles are needed for a war. The army did not convince Congress that it did not need more tanks in 2011, so in 2013, Congress funded an additional tanks to be built at a cost of ~$270M. The army plans on building those tanks and parking them in storage. At the end of the day there will be ~200 "brand new" tanks in storage because the Army reduced the quantity of tanks it needed in its force structure - how many of each vehicle and number of troops, etc. Additionally, there are ~4000 tanks in storage in the desert. The plant will continue to produce other products including the Israeli ссылка chasis and Abrams Foreign Military tanks during that timeframe. The army is considering layaway of the plant if there is a gap with no additional production between 2013 and 2017. The army will layaway unused equipment. General Dynamics Land Systems, which currently operates in the government owned factory, opposed the closure, arguing that suspension of operations would increase long-term costs and reduce flexibility. ссылка ссылка Recapitalization efforts during the war have resulted in the youngest fleet age in the history of the Abrams program. The average age of the Abrams tank in U.S. Army service is less than two years. Plant closure would cost $380 million to shut down and mothball the plant, with an additional $1.3 billion needed to restart production. ссылка If passed, a bill currently in the U.S. Senate would allocate $272 million in funds toward the plant to allow it to continue regular operations through July 2014. This bill did pass and GDLS is lobbying for an additional $180M."

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По словам Chief of Staff, генерала Рэя Одиерно, заморозка производства Абрамсов, которые сейчас военным не нужны ввиду удовлетворения всех количественных потребностей, позволит сэкономить армии 3 миллиарда долларов