New Abrams shown at the car show. We know the details
The modern battlefield is changing literally before our eyes, which is clearly visible in Ukraine. The conflict taking place beyond our eastern border is also closely monitored in the Pentagon and, among others, it was he who drastically redefined the assumptions regarding the future of American armored forces.
This is clearly visible at the current car show in the USA, where it debuted the first prototype version of the Abrams M1A3 tankwhich is to be the armored backbone of the US Army in the future. The new design boasts several significant changes compared to its predecessors.
“By analyzing recent and ongoing armed conflicts, we understand that the future will pose new challenges for tanks. Therefore, if Abrams tanks are to play the role of an apex predator, [drapieżnik, który nie ma naturalnych wrogów, mogących na niego polować, np. lew] on the battlefield and effectively destroy the enemy, then we need to improve their mobility and survivability,” said Brigadier General Geoffrey Norman in the fall of 2023, describing plans to modernize the US armored forces. And these were not words thrown into the wind, as we see only two years later, at the car show in Detroit, where the Pentagon shows an early version of the Abrams M1A3 tank.
An early, preview version of the M1A3 tank at the fair in DetroitPublic domain/US Army
The new tank will feature several significant, even radical, changes compared to the Abrams M1A2 SEPv3 model, today the main tank of the US army. Interestingly, the entire process of its construction will also be very different from previous initiatives of this type by the Pentagon.
Well, this time the Americans are building their new tank, based on feedback from the soldiers themselves. It is on the basis of their experience that changes will be made in subsequent, pre-production versions of the new design. That is why by the end of 2026, the US Army will receive a total of five prototype M1E3 tanks (E – for experimental), to create a platoon whose task will be to thoroughly test this machine and its subsequent versions. And it is on the basis of these tests that the final production unit will be created, which is expected to happen before the end of this decade.
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How will the new US Army tank change?
Let's start with the heart of the new tank, i.e. its drive. While the machine presented in Detroit is powered by a combustion engine, the production version of the M1A3 will use hybrid electric-combustion drivewhich is intended to significantly improve the vehicle's fuel efficiency. Suffice it to mention that the M1A3 is supposed to consume as much as 40 percent. less fuel than the Abrams M1A2 tank. This is also due to the much lower weight of the tank, which will be approximately 60 tons, which will also be a gigantic change compared to the Abrams M1A2 SEPv3, with full combat equipment, weighing almost 80 tons.
Abrams planes are extremely fuel-hungry machines. This is about to change in their new versionM2M_PL / Shutterstock
However, the changes will appear not only under the hood of the new tank. The prototype shown in Detroit also announces a major change in the combat tower, which is without a periscope or crew hatches. This confirms the reports that the tank will have an unmanned turret.
The Pentagon is therefore going in the same direction as, for example, the Russian T-14 Armata tank, in which the entire crew is also placed in the hull of the machine. That's right – the crew. Also in this field, the new Abrams will see a generational change, as the tank's crew will be reduced to three people – the commander, the gunner and the driver. The tank will thus be deprived of its loader and his work will be taken over the automatic loader works.
But the tank will also be able to be operated by just one person. Such functionality already exists in the prototype shown in Detroit, although the Pentagon does not hide that it will not be an optimal configuration. This does not change the fact that the ability to conduct warfare (move and shoot) using a tank operated by one person will significantly increase the combat potential of this structure.
The photo shows the M10 Booker – a recently canceled design that fell victim to the Americans' new approach to building their future tanksDVIDS
This functionality also proves how automated and how much simpler the crew's work will be in the new Abrams. This will be due to, among others, extremely advanced electronics, including a whole range of sensors, lighting and cameras, thanks to which the crew will be able to observe the battlefield around the entire tank.
Interestingly, the tank shown at the fair is controlled by a special steering wheel taken straight… from video games! This is the Fanatic Formula V2 controller, which fans of racing simulators may recognize. According to US Army representatives, this solution significantly reduces the time needed to learn how to use the machine. Each of the three crew stations will also be fully digitized and equipped with configurable touch screens.
In the photos from Detroit, the attention of experts and Internet users was also drawn to the equipment on the tank's turret, especially the Javelin anti-tank missile launcher. However, behind-the-scenes reports from the fair indicate that this is simply a makeshift solution intended to show off modularity and flexibility of a remotely controlled battle station mounted on a tower.
Modularity is the key word in the case of the new Abrams. The tank is supposed to be easy to modernize, both in terms of its software and combat equipment. However, the vehicle's basic weapon will not change – it will be a 120 mm smoothbore gun. The vehicle will certainly also feature some version of an active defense system for destroying drones and anti-tank missiles, but we still have to wait for details on this matter.
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A smaller crew, an unmanned turret, a hybrid drive, an emphasis on greater mobility and less weight, as well as a whole range of digital solutions for tankers and simplicity of operation – as you can see, the new tank of the American army promises to be very interesting indeed. All the more so because its project will evolve in the coming months and years. Pentagon representatives have already announced that the appearance of the fuselage will change in the final production version of the M1A3 model, so we will certainly be closely monitoring the modifications that the machine will undergo before it enters service.
More and more new tanks in NATO
Despite the fact that kamikaze drones destroy tanks fighting in Ukraine, there is no indication that these armored vehicles will be abandoned. This is also visible in other NATO countries, where several new designs of this type have already been announced. The British build, for example, Challenger 3 tanka significantly modernized version of the Challenger 2, one of the best armored tanks in the world. London's new machine is also expected to impress with its defensive capabilities, but everything indicates that it will require a huge mass of up to 80 tons. Therefore, Great Britain is going in a completely different direction than the USA.
Challenger 3 tankarmy.mod.uk/Rheinmetall
A few months ago, the new tank debuted in the Turkish army. Altay is one of the most expensive tanks in history and, according to the manufacturer, is a unit with hunter-killer capabilities, which in practice means that its commander can acquire another target before the gunner has finished fighting the previous enemy unit. For this purpose, it uses a 360-degree periscope with a precise stabilization function, which significantly increases the combat capabilities of the machine and the awareness of the crew's situation on the battlefield.
Altay tankBMC Defense
It also promises to be extremely interesting German KF51 Panteraa new generation tank packed with electronics, which, by all indications, will debut first in the Hungarian army. The tank is distinguished by its armament in the form of a 130 mm gun, which has 50 percent more greater range than the 120-mm gun in the Leopard 2. It also received several different defense layers – passive (normal armor), active (a system for combating enemy missiles before they hit the tank) and reactive (specialized armor protecting the tank after being hit by a missile). First of all, it is a unit designed in such a way as to avoid enemy fire altogether and be the first to destroy the enemy.
KF51 Panther tankMike Mareen / Shutterstock
If this fails, defense systems come into action, including special armor that protects the tank against attacks from above. It is also worth adding that the Panther is to have a weight of less than 60 tons, so the German design follows the same path as the new Abrams and is to offer greater mobility while maintaining or even increasing survivability and firepower.
As you can see, tanks are not retiring for now and will probably continue to arouse the imagination of fans of military technology for a long time.
