American tank revolution: Inside the M1E3's rapid development plan

The new tank is being developed by the GDLS (General Dynamics Land Systems) company under the name M1E3, which will likely be changed to M1A3 once the vehicle enters service. Maintaining the continuity of designations (previous versions of the Abrams are M1, M1A1, and M1A2), as well as the demonstrator's name – AbramsX – suggests that the new equipment will be the next stage in the evolution of the already over 40-year-old Abrams tank.

This conclusion is misleading. Although many Abrams components will be found in the new tank, the extent of the changes is so significant that despite retaining the name, it will effectively be a completely new construction. Work on it is being carried out as a modernisation of the currently operated tank, partly due to easier financing when conducting such a project.

However, work on the new tank does not mean – as noted by Defence 24 – the complete abandonment of the development of the current Abrams variant, namely the M1A2SEPv3 tank. Although the development of the M1A2SEPv4 version was halted, the improvements it was to introduce have not been abandoned. They are still being developed and will gradually reach the currently operated tanks as part of the AUP (Abrams Upgrade Programme) modernisation programme.

However, most of the resources have been redirected from upgrading the Abrams to building the next-generation vehicle. In 2022, GDLS revealed a technology demonstrator called AbramsX, offering a preliminary vision of the new tank and the solutions that will be applied in it. Compared to the currently operated Abrams tanks the extent of the changes is very significant.

The construction layout of the new tank is likely to change. Following current trends, the M1E3 will feature an unmanned turret with an autoloader. This will allow the crew of the vehicle to be reduced from four to three people, while simultaneously allowing the entire crew to be placed in the hull of the tank.

This means that the space designated for the crew will be significantly smaller than it is now, making it easier to secure with armour of the intended resistance. The crew's chances of survival will also increase due to their placement low in the tank, in a less hit-prone area, and the complete separation of the ammunition storage (which is also the case with the currently operated Abrams tanks).

The tank will also receive a new drive system. Instead of the turbine typical for Abrams, the M1E3 will feature a hybrid drive utilising a diesel engine developed by Cummins, the ACE (Advanced Combat Engine), offering 50% more power from the same volume, a 20% reduction in generated heat, and 13% lower fuel consumption. The new Abrams is to receive the most powerful variant of the futuristic drive – the ACE1500.

It will probably be combined with an electric drive and a new system responsible for generating, storing, and distributing electricity. This solution is intended to address the increasing energy demand necessary for operating tank electronics and various systems responsible for communication, target detection, and self-defence.

The component that will remain common with the "old" Abrams tanks is the M256 120 mm cannon. The Americans see no need to increase the calibre of the main armament.

In contrast to the French working on tanks (planning to use the ASCALON cannon of 140 mm calibre), the Germans (130 mm), or the Russians (152 mm), the Pentagon considers the currently widespread 120 mm calibre to be completely sufficient for destroying current and future targets. However, this does not exclude further increasing firepower not by growing calibre but by working on more effective tank ammunition.

Reference to projects conducted by other countries is warranted for another reason, which is the pace of work being conducted. The Russians were the first to present their "future tank", but the tank (and the entire platform) shown in 2014, T-14 Armata, turned out to be an embarrassing misstep.

For a decade, the Russian industry has not been able to bring it to a state where the tank would be suitable for combat. Out of the thousands of promised units, likely no more than 100 have been ordered (and significantly fewer produced). Technical challenges (such as building a suitable engine) have proven so serious that the Uralvagonzavod plants, instead of trying to meet them, are announcing the intention to build a completely new, breakthrough design. Considering the capabilities of the Russian industry, this announcement should be considered unlikely.

The European future tank, being built by France and Germany under the MGCS programme, is announced as a very ambitious project (a whole family of combat vehicles is to be created) but simultaneously extremely distant. Over eight years of work, the partners have not been able to determine what the future European tank should be, and the implementation of the new equipment is being postponed – currently to the mid-2040s.

Against this backdrop, the pace of the Americans stands out. The initial schedule, which assumed the construction of the new tank within five years, has been cancelled and replaced with a much more ambitious one, predicting that the M1E3 will be developed in 24-30 months, or no more than 30 months.

To meet the deadline, the Pentagon is ready for many compromises: project-related bureaucracy and procedural issues have been minimised, and the contractor, i.e., GDLS, has been given free rein in selecting partners or specific solutions.

At the same time, the financing of the work being carried out has been fully secured. The military also allows for the possibility that at the beginning of its development path, the American future tank may not meet all the set requirements – which are to be refined over time.

The previous equipment revolution, known as the "Big Five," took place in the 1980s. During that time, the M1 Abrams tank, M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, Patriot anti-aircraft system, as well as AH-64 Apache and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters were introduced into service.

Similarly ambitious intentions accompany the current modernisation programmes. The new tank is set to enter production at the turn of the decade, keeping pace with other US Army initiatives described as the "Super Big 5."

These include the introduction of a new tank, a new infantry fighting vehicle (XM30 programme – successor to the M2 Bradley), a transport helicopter (FLRAA programme – successor to the Black Hawk), anti-aircraft and missile defence systems (programmes M-SHORAD and IFPC Inc 2), as well as new generation artillery (the discontinued XM1299 ERCA programme).

The first "Big Five" provided the US Army with technical dominance over the rest of the world for 50 years. If the programmes within the "Super Big 5" are successfully realised, the US Army faces a technical revolution akin to that of the past half-century. The M1E3 tank, or the "new Abrams" with the ultimate designation M1A3, will be a significant element of this revolution.