Leopard 1 sibling: Spain auctions M60A3 tanks

Despite moral obsolescence, the M60A3 TTS has better protection than the Leopard 1 and allows for permanent installation of dynamic protection.

Navy Spain has put up for auction M60A3 TTS tanks, which were decommissioned in the period 2010-2020. This is reported by the Spanish portal InfoDefensa.

The Marine Corps was armed with the M60A3 TTS tanks, which now sell for a starting price of €48,924. It is also a condition for participants to leave a deposit of 20% of the base price of the tender. The deadline for submission of documentation and proposals ends on April 22. After that, the received proposals will be announced on April 24. The number of cars put up for auction is not known. However, the technical condition is defined as such that they still have value.

It is known that the Spanish Army received about 260 M60A3 TTS and M60A1 tanks, which came from West Germany, where they were stored by the US Army. The tanks were not new and arrived without means of communication and additional weapons. The Santa Barbara Blindados company was engaged in bringing the tanks to a combat-ready state.

Since the early 2010s, Spain began decommissioning the M60A3 TTS tanks. The last machine was withdrawn in 2022, it was transferred to the General Albacete and Fuster Marine Corps School. Defense Express adds that the M60A3 TTS — this is the last modification of the M60 tank, which was created in the 1980s. Despite its age, the tank had an integrated Raytheon AN/VSG2 gunner's thermal sight.

The ZSU does not have the M60A3 TTS, but there are M60 AVLB bridge-layers based on the tank. There are many M60s in service in some countries around the world. Turkey has even developed an upgrade with a new MZK turret. The Turkish army has 900 M60s in service. At the same time, the M60A3 TTS is of the same era as the Leopard 1, but has better protection and is provided with dynamic protection. The gun, like the Leopard 1, has a caliber of 105 mm.