The U.S. Army has now stated that it is killing the current strategy of modernization for the Abrams main battle tank in favor of a much more comprehensive overhaul to make the tank ways in advancing mobility and survivability of the tank.
It will also mean that the Army will cancel the M1A2 SEPv4 program and instead advance to the M1E3 Abrams, a version ideally more suited for the rigors of the 2040-plus battlefield. All this comes after the Army was projected to get the SEPv4 version this past spring.
Army Under Secretary Gabe Camarillo said some of the money that was intended for use in the SEPv4 will now be used in research and development for the M1E3 Abrams. He said the new upgrade had to be “threat-based” in light of recent observations from battles such as the war in Ukraine. The new tank will have a native active protection system, reduced weight, and enhanced survivability, all without increasing the logistical burden.
Maj. Gen. Glenn Dean, the Army’s program executive officer for ground combat systems, addressed this issue forcefully from the vantage of the limitations of the current Abrams tank: “The tank can no longer grow its capabilities without adding weight, and we need to reduce its logistical footprint.” Protection technologies need to be integrated for soldiers, not just added on, a fact underlined by the conflict in Ukraine.
Abrams M1E3 will incorporate the best of M1A2 SEPv4 enabler features and built to modular open-system architecture standards. This will allow faster technology insertions with more responsive means, allowing the Army and its industry partners to design a more survivable, lighter, and more easily upgradeable future tank.
Machin added that the Abrams must be updated with improved mobility and survivability to remain the apex predator on battlefields of the future. Weight is a primary mobility barrier, said Brig. Gen. Geoffrey Norman, director of the Next-Generation Combat Vehicle Cross-Functional Team, pointed out that the Army is constantly searching for ways to reduce the weight of its main battle tank to support greater operational mobility.
General Dynamic Land Systems (GDLS), manufacturer of the Abrams tank, displayed the AbramsX technology demonstrator during the annual Association of the U.S. Army conference in October 2022. The AbramsX is 30% lighter than the current Abrams, burns fuel at a 50% slower rate, and comes with a silent watch capability and some silent mobility power pack. It also has integrated artificial intelligence for enhanced lethality, survivability, mobility, and manned and unmanned teaming.
“While the Army did not detail the specific changes in the new M1E3 variant, GDLS is leveraging AbramsX to investigate options for weight reduction, improved survivability, and a more effective logistics tail.”. The Army will continue to develop the M1A2 SEPv3 at a lower rate until the M1E3 can return to the production line,” the M1E3 was fully expected to achieve the initial operational capability in the early 2030s.
In another newfound irony, the U.S. army had entered into a contract with To The Stars Academy, a group of UFO technology exploitation, for the study of how UFO material could be manipulated and reconstituted into new weapons platforms. The specific areas of interest of the Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Command are inertial mass reduction, mechanical/structural metamaterials, and quantum communications.
The agreement also mentions areas of research involving the exploitation of metamaterial for active camouflage and directed photo projection. An Army spokesman stated that To The Stars Academy has demonstrated capabilities that might support interests in “camouflage concealment deception and obscuration.” Some source material for this technology is claimed to be retrieved from UFO crash remnants and shows advanced capabilities in the manipulation of space-time and control of gravity.
These are claims, of course, that are open to being anything but credible, while the contract in itself evidences a willingness to look at unconventional technologies as a means of achieving military superiority for the Army.