By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization
The US Army’s M1A2 Abrams v4, Israel’s Merkava, Germany’s Leopard 2 or the famous Russian T-14 Armata are all main battle tanks which could compete for distinction of … the best tank in the world.
However, what about an emerging tank which has yet to fully exist? It seems General Dynamics Land Systems AbramsX could very well be the best tank to ever exist, should it perform as anticipated.
GDLS revealed its AbramsX last Fall at the 2022 Association of the United States Army Annual Symposium as an offering or vehicle for the Army to consider.How might the AbramsX build upon armored vehicle and tank innovations? GDLS developers have explained a number of key elements to this, including an unmanned turret, ability to launch drones, fire course-correcting ammunition, operate 360-degree thermal sites, evolving AI-enabled command and control capability and new generations of sensor data processing and integration.
While the Army typically does not comment on specific industry offerings, the tank was offered to the Army as a demonstrator for exploration. Mr. William Nelson, Deputy, Army Futures Command, did not comment at all on the AbramsX specifically, but did tell Warrior the service is working intensely on the extent to which emerging armored vehicle and tank technologies are driving new requirements and maneuver formations.
“We need lighter formations that are more lethal and survivable, and heavy formations which are lighter with a reduced logistical footprint. I think that defines the future and is not something you turn on a dime,” Nelson told Warrior.
The AbramsX is a 60-ton offering designed to be a little faster, more mobile and more expeditionary than the existing Abrams, something which could massively improve its ability to cross bridges, enter strategically vital passageways and perhaps keep pace with maneuvering infantry and lighter-vehicles on the move. The lighter weight offering also appears to address ongoing Army concerns about Abram tank weight, referring to the extent to which its 70-ton weight could limit the platform’s mobility and deployability to a certain extent.
Abrams X faster at 60-tons
While the 70-ton Abrams tanks continue to appear extremely relevant and critical, a 60-ton Abrams such as the “X” would introduce some key advantages for next-generation combat formations. How was 60-tons achieved without compromise the kind of survivability and protection implicitly vital to the Abrams tank? The specifics here may not be fully known for proprietary or security reasons, yet Army and industry developers are increasingly emphasizing “innovation,” meaning efforts to conduct out-of-the-box next generation research and study to uncover new impactful technologies and areas of “breakthrough” or “disruptive” discoveries.
Warrior Intv. With Mr. William Nelson, Deputy, Army Futures Command
Perhaps this means lighter weight composites, which are already being integrated in several key places across the force? Perhaps the sensors are even high resolution, longer-range and precise than even the Abrams v4? Perhaps most of all, the Abrams X is being engineered with an ability to launch and operate “attack” drones while on the move in combat, something which naturally massively expands lethality, forward surveillance and multi-domain, AI-enabled, networked target data identification and distribution.
The AbramsX is also hybrid-electric, something which expands operational capacity in a number of respects. By increasing fuel efficiency, a hybrid-electric propulsion system reduced the need for a heavy logistic trail transporting massive amounts of fuel, something which can slow down advancing forces and also place more vulnerable sustainment and logistical forces at risk of attack. Also, an ability to control unmanned systems meet an interest or emerging operational requirements envisioned by the Army, which is to engineer a robotic “ammo” carrying platform able to bring supplies, ammunition and fuel into high-risk, forward locations without placing manned crews at risk. Hybrid electric propulsion also enables “silent watch,” meaning the vehicles can operate at a forward location without emitting a thermal or acoustic signature which might give away their position to an enemy. Essentially, silent watch allows the sensors and electronics to operate without an acoustic or thermal signature generated from an engine.
Active Protection to Stop RPGs
GDLS is also working with partners to build a “hemispheric” Active Protection System into the tank designed to detect, track and intercept or destroy incoming RPGs and Anti-Tank Guided Missiles. APS systems work with a sensor, computer processor and fire control system to track an approaching threat and shoot out an “interceptor” capable of destroying an incoming enemy round. Interestingly, the GDLS APS is built with an ability to protect the tank from top-down anti-armor attacks. While hemispheric APS has always been an ongoing goal for armored vehicles, events in Ukraine undoubtedly influenced or informed GDLS APS, as Ukrainians had great success destroying Russian tanks by firing top-down missile attacks at the more vulnerable “top” part of a tank.
All of these innovations, GDLS developers say, is in large measure being brought to fruition through its use of an IP protocol it refers to as “Katalyst,” a technical configuration designed to use open standards to enable or accommodate the addition and integration of new technologies as they emerge. With “Katalyst,” GDLS and Army developers will be able to use software upgrades to improve sensing resolutions, targeting precision and on-board command and control systems. Katalyst can also support “interfaces” using common, interoperable standards to support information sharing both on the vehicle and among other players throughout multiple domains.
Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Master’s Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
