Questions Surround the Future of the Abrams Main Battle Tank

Video Above: Top Army Weapons Buyer Details Future Attack Technology

By Kris Osborn – President & Editor-In-Chief, Warrior Maven

Army deliberations about how to somehow reconcile a specific paradox fundamental to future armored vehicles have continued for as long as several decades. The problem at hand involves vehicle weight, technology, and survivability. Futurists and weapons developers are exploring how to engineer a light-weight, deployable and highly lethal armored vehicle with the levels of survivability needed to withstand heavy incoming enemy fire and prevail in major armored warfare.

The question is whether that can actually be done as there may be little or no substitute for the protection and firepower of heavily armed manned platforms like an Abrams. At the same time, keeping the Abrams does not preclude or diminish the possibilities for engineering faster, lighter weight and potentially unmanned vehicles to operate alongside a heavy tank. The Army seems to be pursuing both. Why not?

Abrams Main Battle Tank

Maj. Gen. Ross Coffman, Director of the Next Generation Combat Vehicle Cross Functional Team, Army Futures Command, told Warrior last year that the service was looking into both heavily armored solutions as well as unmanned systems and lighter-weight manned alternatives. Coffman said the Army plans to keep upgrading the Abrams while also studying new concepts for a new Optionally Manned Tank platform.

“We are gathering information in the form of studies, maturing technologies and doing deep dives into what will be required from a decisive platform in the future. We are in the exploratory phases and do not want to take anything off the table when it comes to the best thing for our soldiers in the future. We are exploring characteristics and not requirements and looking at broad solutions to known problems,” Coffman told Warrior.

Much of this leads to a lingering question with no real answer … at least not an answer at the moment. Will there be a replacement for the Army’s upgraded Abrams main battle tank? Should there be? Ultimately an entirely new platform may arise, but many questions remain open, such as how long until that happens?