Dubbed the Abrams-X, General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) unveiled the latest iteration in its long line of Abrams main battle tanks earlier this week. The latest Abrams sports an active protection system designed to defeat incoming missiles at range to lessen the effect of collateral damage to nearby soldiers, and is fitted with a remotely operated machine gun atop the tank’s turret for close-in fire support. The Abrams-X is both lighter than its predecessors and more robust, able to fire many of the US Army’s latest types of smart munitions for greater lethality on the battlefield. The vehicle will reportedly feature a new armor package although no word as yet if that means its super secretive Chobham armor is being dispensed with in favor of a better, more up-to-date means of protection or modified with better ceramic plating. None of the tell-tale TUSK I or TUSK II urban survival kits were shown on the technology demonstrator nor were any other types of explosive reactive armor clad to the vehicle. The tank will carry a smaller crew, feature a new electrification system, state-of-the-art computers and work in conjunction with other soon-to-be-fielded tracked and wheeled mobile weapons systems that will form the tip of the Army’s armored spear for the better part of the 21st century.
Interestingly, the video hints at Abrams-X’s so-called “Silent Strike” capability which purportedly means the possibility of a hybrid propulsion system that could incorporate an electric battery in addition to the gas turbine engine that powers the M1 series of tanks. In effect, the tank would operate in a stealth mode, able to advance up to the edge of the battlefield area then perform simplified maneuvering without fear of being audibly detected by enemy forces. Whispering Death, as it was known during the Gulf Wars, personified.
From an aesthetic standpoint, the chassis looks much like a standard M1 Abrams tank, sporting jagged, slab-like side armor panels, padded tracks, and the driver’s position still situated immediately below the main gun. The turret, however, looks vaguely similar to a British Challenger 2 tank, with all sorts of forward-looking sensors and other apparatus studded along its angular exterior. The remotely operated machine gun will likely function much like those employed on the Stryker family of wheeled vehicles and therefore does not expose the user to close arms fire. Moreover, it appears as if a coaxial machine gun has been fitted above the main gun, and 360-degree situational awareness sensors are embedded around the turret’s outer surfaces, giving the crew better all-around field-of-view.
The down-sized, three-man crew means the new Abrams-X will likely come with an autoloader, more in line with Russian main battle tanks, although the tank will almost certainly incorporate blow out panels for ammunition storage in an effort to enhance crew survivability should the vehicle succumb to enemy fire. The US Army has always been loathe to downsizing a tank’s crew since it means one less person is available for in-the-field maintenance duties.
In a separate announcement, “Defense firm Honeywell unveiled a new head-mounted display it said will provide a 360-degree view around military vehicles and allow the drivers to see better in hazardous conditions that lower visibility. The Honeywell 360 Display, introduced at the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual convention in Washington, uses a series of exterior cameras mounted on a vehicle, such as a Humvee, as well as sensors to give the driver a high-resolution picture of what is going on around the vehicle.” The new system will likely be worn by the tank’s driver to give him better situational awareness, particularly at night and in inclement weather, since the Army still plans on carrying out round-the-clock operations against any potential adversary to seize and maintain the initiative.
GDLS also indicated that they would begin building the US Army’s new Mobile Protected Firepower system, a light tank designed principally for Airborne forces as a means of bolstering their offensive punch and engage most adversarial targets at range. Initially 26 vehicles will be delivered, which includes retrofitting eight of a dozen prototypes originally built for testing and evaluation purposes to bring them up to field specs. In total, 70 vehicles will be procured under a low rate production plan over the next few years. Interestingly, the Army plans to buy 504 vehicles, which are projected to be in the inventory for at least 30 years. The bulk of procurement should be complete by 2035. In the wake of the current Russo-Ukrainian War, in which hundreds of Russian tanks have been destroyed by both man-portable and drone launched systems, the Army still feels there is a need for modern main battle tanks on the battlefield and determined that its newest entrants are more than capable of defending themselves against similar adversarial systems.
As a sidebar, its curious to see how the so-called “light tank” carries a crew of four while the heavier Abrams-X, no doubt better suited for tank-on-tank combat, will accommodate only three. I can only assume that the weight of the munitions plays into the equation. Its conceivable that the munitions for the Abrams-X is far heavier and therefore too much to bear for the average man to handle under the duress of combat.
