The US Army wants to equip its next-gen Abrams tank with modern military tech — without the bulk

The heft of the Abrams tank has enabled its dominance as one of the most formidable main battle tanks in service; but as its weight has grown with each update, it has also started to limit its mobility.

In 2017, a three-star Army general revealed to Congress that the tank could no longer be towed by the Heavy Equipment Transport vehicle specifically designed to tow it — meaning there was nothing that could haul the Abrams around Europe, where a number had been positioned as part of an initiative to deter Russia.

Bridges are also a problem, particularly in Europe where many crossings are old and not reinforced; there, a single Abrams represents a major structural threat. With a current hot conflict in Europe, these drawbacks were increasingly concerning to planners. In September, the Army announced it was canceling a planned upgrade — the M1A2 Sepv4 — that threatened to fatten the Abrams even more, and instead pursue a more radical modernization.

“The Abrams tank can no longer grow its capabilities without adding weight and we need to reduce its logistical footprint,” Maj. Gen. Glenn Dean, program executive officer for the Army’s Ground Combat Systems, said in a statement accompanying the announcement. “The war in Ukraine has highlighted a critical need for integrated protections for soldiers, built from within instead of adding on.”

And herein lies the biggest challenge for the Army in its quest for a lighter tank: the bulkiest features the Abrams sports are the armor and protective systems that make it so formidable. The Abrams Reactive Armor Tiles that cover the tank’s surface alone add two more tons of weight — but the tiles effectively blast incoming rockets away from the vehicle’s surface, adding a next-level layer of protection.

The Abrams’ Trophy Active Protection System, an Israeli-developed countermeasure that detects and intercepts incoming threats much like a miniature Iron Dome, adds nearly four more tons. That reality has spurred speculation as to whether Trophy will be featured on future generations of the Abrams.

The reality is that the M1 Abrams has gotten so heavy through its cycle of adding new protections onto its rugged frame as they become state-of-the-art: therefore, it is a cross-section of many of the best systems the world’s tanks have to offer. To cut weight, the Army will have to undertake an aggressive redesign to make some of those systems internal to the vehicle; but it may also have to make some tough tradeoff decisions about what the next-generation Abrams truly needs to meet tomorrow’s threats.

It is left to be seen which features belong in Abrams’ future, and which will be left in the past.

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