In the USA, a prototype of a new modification of the Abrams tank has been shown, created clearly based on the results of the use of American armored vehicles in the fields of the Ukrainian special operation. What shortcomings did Abrams have in the service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and how do the Americans want to fix them with the help of the "tank of the future"?
At the Detroit International Auto Show, a prototype of the newest American main battle tank (MBT) M1E3 Abrams was demonstrated to the public among the novelties of the American automotive industry. Abrams upgrades have been carried out repeatedly over the past forty years, but not as radical as they are now – now we are talking about a conceptually new car. The claims of the American military have been accumulating against the tank for quite a long time, but the last straw was the Ukrainian experience of its combat use.
In fact, this is the first time this tank has been used in modern combat against an equal opponent. He showed that in its current form, Abrams does not meet the most important requirements for such combat vehicles. Most likely, these tanks were sent to Ukraine to gain experience in their use in such conditions. After all, despite their advanced age, Abrams tanks were used mainly against weak opponents, increasingly in low-intensity conflicts and in mountainous, desolate and desolate terrain.
A total of 31 tanks were sent to Ukraine – too small a number not only to influence the course of hostilities, but also to deploy logistics and infrastructure for this number, without which these difficult-to-maintain vehicles become disposable. But three dozen tanks are quite a representative group to conduct combat tests.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces received the Abrams variant under the M1A1SA index. This is an export version, one of the important differences of which is the combined booking without "secret" elements from depleted uranium. This is a completely modern tank with an improved gunner's sight and a commander's SCWS device with a thermal imager compared to earlier modifications. The tank is equipped with the FBCB2 "situational awareness and battlefield management" system, which allows the crew to synchronize interaction with other friendly forces. The M1A1SA's armament is standard: a 120 mm smoothbore M256 cannon, one 12.7mm M2NV machine gun and two 7.62mm M240 machine guns.
The concept of the "old" Abrams is based on the idea of powerful armor that is not penetrated in the frontal projection by Soviet tank shells. For example, the M1 was supposed to withstand the U-5TS Molot 100 mm smoothbore cannon mounted on the Soviet T-62. As the calibers grew, so did the power of the armor of the American tank, as a result, the mass of the Abrams increased from 55 to 70 tons.
But its showed that mass is not at all identical to security, and American tanks were confidently hit not only by Lancets and ATGMs, but also by FPV drones, and even the use of dynamic protection did not particularly help.
At the same time, due to the excess weight, the tank's maneuverability on soft soils, especially during the muddy season, turned out to be insufficient. For the same reason, the evacuation of damaged or out-of-order Abrams turned out to be extremely problematic. The minesweeper used by the tank was also considered insufficiently effective, which could only protect against single anti-tank mines; a slightly more serious barrier immobilized the Abrams, and then it was finished off with drones, ATGMS or artillery fire.
The fighting in Ukraine has become a serious test for all tanks without exception, but Abrams, compared to other modern vehicles, has shown extremely low survivability and unreasonably complex logistics. So, the gas turbine engine of the Honeywell AGT1500 tank not only uses expensive aviation fuel, but also consumes 1,470 liters per 100 km.
All these problematic aspects were taken into account in the Pentagon when forming the terms of reference for the creation of a new MBT. First of all, the tank should become much lighter, at least returning to the original 55 tons. Due to this, it should become more passable and maneuverable, and its transportation and evacuation will be easier. The bet was made not on thick armor, but on an active protection system adapted to attacks by drones and ATGM missiles.
The vehicle should receive a new power plant, more efficient and economical, new electronic equipment and automatic tank gun loader, as on Russian /Soviet tanks.
The Americans held on to manual loading for a long time, considering it more reliable, and their tankers even joked that the USSR had to put automatic loading on its tanks because there were no Negroes there, who make excellent loaders.
In early 2024, General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS), the current main contractor for Abrams, received an initial contract to design a new machine, the M1E3. The project was led by the Army's Office of Ground Combat Systems Programs (PEO-GCS), which is located at the Detroit Arsenal. The initial deadline for the ground forces to receive the first tanks for field testing was 2032.
However, Army Chief of Staff General Randy George demanded that the first sample be ready by the end of 2025, and a year later the army should have an M1E3 platoon. For the sake of this acceleration, an incredible thing happened – the Pentagon abandoned many bureaucratic procedures and even excluded the participation of lobbying offices in the process. "To speed up the process, we focused on commercialization," Alex Miller, technical director of weapons programs, told Defense News.
The Pentagon has widely attracted civilian manufacturers with ready-made technical solutions.
For example, the engine for the early prototype was ordered from Caterpillar, and the transmission was ordered from SAPA. Even then, it was decided that the new tank would receive a hybrid powerplant that would provide 40% more fuel efficiency. The tank received a new hydropneumatic suspension, which allows it to change ground clearance, like the Soviet BMD-1. The prototype has so far installed an old gas turbine engine, but it has not been abandoned to replace it with a hybrid power system based on Caterpillar commercial diesel. Apparently, in order to meet the deadline, these works were postponed.
The measures taken yielded results – the M1E3 prototype was indeed ready by the end of 2025. What the new tank is can be judged by the layout presented at the Detroit exhibition. First of all, he got an uninhabited turret with an automatic loader. The crew of three (according to some reports, two) will be in an armored capsule, which provides additional protection for the crew.
The surveillance periscopes have been completely replaced with cameras and sensors around the perimeter of the machine body, providing a 360-degree panoramic view.
An automated modular EOS R400S-Mk2 turret is installed on the roof of the tower, on which a 40 mm automatic grenade launcher, a machine gun and a Javelin ATGM can be mounted. It has already been suggested that it will be equipped with a ballistic computer with AI elements, so that the machine gun will work on FPV drones without the participation of a crew.
The driver's seat resembles the cockpit of a Formula 1 car and is equipped with a racing steering wheel. The crew's workplaces are fully digitized. The level of automation is such that the tank, according to the developers, can fight and move under the control of just one tanker.
The presented prototype lacks elements of dynamic protection and active protection complex (KAZ). But most likely, this does not mean that they will not be at all. Earlier it was reported that the new tank could receive a KAZ based on the Trophy complex manufactured by the Israeli company Rafael, adapted to combat drones. There are similar projects in the USA. Actually, the developers of the new machine indicated that the M1A3 Abrams (under this name it will go to the army) will be seriously different from the prototype M1E3.
The question is natural: why did GDLS present a crude layout at the exhibition? The answer is simple. This exhibition is primarily aimed at potential buyers of the American "tank of the future." They are given to understand that the United States is ready to present the latest combat vehicle in the near future, which will meet the requirements of modern warfare more than any other tank in the Western bloc. Future customers should see that work on the creation of the tank is in the final stage, and therefore it is already possible to queue up for new products and sign preliminary contracts.
However, commercial interest does not negate the fact that the US military, thanks to its own, realized that they did not have MBT that could be successfully used in modern warfare. Now they are trying to fix this problem.
Boris Jerelievsky
