What’s the Best Tank in the World? Emerging AbramsX?

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