Aussie Hercules gets a makeover

The Australian Army says seven of its 13 M88A2 Hercules armoured recovery vehicles are currently undergoing a technical refresh.

CAPTION: The first of seven M88A2 Hercules armoured recovery vehicles leaves JLU-N after a ‘technical refresh’ and fresh coat of paint. Photo by WO1 Peter Kirkman.

The refresh program includes conducting deep maintenance as well as ensuring there is a common configuration across the whole M88 fleet.

The refresh is being undertaken at the Joint Logistics Unit – North (JLU-N) in Darwin by an integrated project team that includes JLU-N, BAE Systems and Broad Spectrum staff.

M88 Hercules provides a recovery and maintenance capability for Army’s M1A1 Abrams Tank.

HERCULES is actually an acronym for Heavy Equipment Recovery Combat Utility Lift and Evacuation System.

HERCULES is a fully-tracked heavy armoured vehicle which performs hoisting, winching and towing as part of recovery operations and evacuation of heavy tanks and other combat vehicles.

The vehicle is built on an M60 series tank chassis and is powered by a V12 air-cooled twin-turbo diesel engine developing 1050hp.

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