Photo: U.S. Army
With the rise to power of military aircraft, and in more recent times that of killer drones, the role of the battle tank seems to have diminished. That's made painfully clear by the war taking place in Ukraine: tanks are there, fighting for both sides, but because of anti-tank obstacles, minefields, and drones, they are more like mobile artillery pieces than the spearhead of offensive operations.
America's main battle tank, the M1 Abrams, is expected to join the fight as soon as this month. It will be, for all intents and purposes, the first major battlefield test (Gulf War notwithstanding) of the fighting platform against what was considered until recently a peer adversary.
The version to be delivered to Ukraine will be the M1A1, the 55.8-ton tank that's been in operation since the mid-1980s. The U.S. has two other versions in its inventory, the M1 and M1A2, which will likely benefit greatly from what the M1A1 will learn when facing the Russians. In fact, some lessons are already being learned.
Until this week, the U.S.-operated M1A2 was scheduled to receive something called System Enhancement Package version 4 (SEPv4). That would be a series of upgrades aimed at improving lethality and survivability, and enhancing the tank's optics and fire control system.
It now seems that the U.S. has dropped plans for SEPv4, citing as main reason the fact the Abrams "can no longer grow its capabilities without adding weight." Additionally, what's happening in Ukraine has taught the military's top brass that "future battlefields pose new challenges to the tank."
With that in mind the Army announced this week the closure of SEPv4 program and the launch of the M1E3 Abrams, a tank meant to bring to the table the "capability improvements needed to fight and win against future threats on the battlefield of 2040 and beyond."
The exact details of the M1E3 were not announced, but it will most likely include tech and ideas developed for the SEPv4, and it will be compliant with modular open systems architecture standards.
We should expect quite a radical departure from what we have now in the M1A2, targeting first and foremost the capability to defeat modern-day long-range threats. Regardless of how it shapes up to be, we're promised the new version will remain "the most lethal, protected tank in the world."
We don't have an exact timeline on when we should expect the M1E3, other than sometime in the 2030s, but the Army said production of the current M1A2 SEPv3 will continue at a reduced rate for a while, until it's ready to transition to the M1E3.
There is no info on how much the decision announced this week will cost, or who will handle the development of the M1E3. The SEPv4, for instance, was handled by General Dynamics Land Systems.
The version to be delivered to Ukraine will be the M1A1, the 55.8-ton tank that's been in operation since the mid-1980s. The U.S. has two other versions in its inventory, the M1 and M1A2, which will likely benefit greatly from what the M1A1 will learn when facing the Russians. In fact, some lessons are already being learned.
Until this week, the U.S.-operated M1A2 was scheduled to receive something called System Enhancement Package version 4 (SEPv4). That would be a series of upgrades aimed at improving lethality and survivability, and enhancing the tank's optics and fire control system.
It now seems that the U.S. has dropped plans for SEPv4, citing as main reason the fact the Abrams "can no longer grow its capabilities without adding weight." Additionally, what's happening in Ukraine has taught the military's top brass that "future battlefields pose new challenges to the tank."
With that in mind the Army announced this week the closure of SEPv4 program and the launch of the M1E3 Abrams, a tank meant to bring to the table the "capability improvements needed to fight and win against future threats on the battlefield of 2040 and beyond."
The exact details of the M1E3 were not announced, but it will most likely include tech and ideas developed for the SEPv4, and it will be compliant with modular open systems architecture standards.
We should expect quite a radical departure from what we have now in the M1A2, targeting first and foremost the capability to defeat modern-day long-range threats. Regardless of how it shapes up to be, we're promised the new version will remain "the most lethal, protected tank in the world."
We don't have an exact timeline on when we should expect the M1E3, other than sometime in the 2030s, but the Army said production of the current M1A2 SEPv3 will continue at a reduced rate for a while, until it's ready to transition to the M1E3.
There is no info on how much the decision announced this week will cost, or who will handle the development of the M1E3. The SEPv4, for instance, was handled by General Dynamics Land Systems.
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