According to a US Army research, the M1 Abrams tank should be phased out in favor of lighter, smaller, autonomous vehicles due to survivability concerns raised by the Ukraine War on potential battlefields.
The US Army Science Board research recommended replacing the M1 Abrams tank with new, smaller vehicles and uncrewed cars to rule the anticipated 2040s battlefields, according to The Warzone’s report this month. According to the study, a next-generation M1 generic with larger caliber guns and fast anti-tank missiles is required.
According to the Warzone review, the US Army Science Board foresees new risks from sophisticated anti-tank weapons, drones, and AI-assisted capabilities for potential tanks and armoured vehicles. It foresees an increase in the use of technology, cleverness, surveillance and reconnaissance( ISR ) shipping features, and cyber-attacks on command and control facilities on the battlefields of the 2040s.
According to the study, the M1 Abrams will become less dominant on future battlefields, and the US military is worried about backing forces in a high-end conflict with the People’s Liberation Army( PLA ), which is anticipated to compete with friendly supply chains. & nbsp,
The M1 Abrams needs a sizable shipping coach, which calls for enormous amounts of J – 8 flight fuel and an ongoing source of spare parts. The PLA can use its extensive anti-access / area denial ( A2 / AD ) capabilities to prevent US resupply operations or to use a combination of economic and political pressure to deny the US access to bases and logistics facilities, while the United States can directly supply its tank forces via sealift or airlift, or pre-position fuel and spares in nations like Japan, the Philippines, and Australia.
The US Army Science Board, according to The Warzone, advises looking into a lighter M1-derived tank with sophisticated 130mm main guns, reduced crew, an electric propulsion system that is hybrid in nature, and an emphasis on active protection systems ( APS ). According to the report, the US Army is thinking about a fresh crewed 35 to 40 bit light container with comparable features as well as an” mechanical friend” 20 to 30 tons.
Additionally, it mentions that the board has suggested testing drone vehicles through collaboration with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency( DARPA ) and engagement with France and Germany on sophisticated tank projects.
The study, according to The Warzone, criticizes US tank-related study in comparison to efforts in China and Russia while acknowledging the importance of armor for upcoming US military operations. The study might have influenced the US’s recent decision to stop M1 upgrade projects and alter its stance on the long-term M1 / Abrams, which went into service for the first time in 1980.
Defense News announced this month that the US Army will switch from the M1A2 System Enhancement Package Version 4( SEPv4 program ), noting that it can no longer be upgraded without adding weight and requiring a smaller logistical footprint for the tank.
According to Defense News, the new M1E3 Abrams does support open-systems layout standards and have the best features of the M2A2 SEPv4, enabling quicker technology upgrades. According to the report, the project aims to create a lighter, more resilient tank that will reportedly be more productive on the battlefield and simpler to improve.
Defense News even reports that the US Army intends to slow down production of the M1A2 SEPv3 until it can convert it to full-scale generation. It states that the M1E3 is anticipated to reach first administrative ability in the early 2030s and that it will be able to counteract longer-range threats to both lethality and resilience.
Similar choices have been made by the US Marine Corps ( USMC) when M1 tanks were removed from its stock as part of what is being billed as a major revamp of its corporate structure.
The Marine Corps Times reported in March 2020 that the USMC is removing M1 vehicles and other tools that will be difficult to survive in conflict with countries like China. According to The Marine Corps Times, tanks and armoured vehicles are now susceptible due to precision strikes and helicopter threats, which give units that shoot first a clear advantage on the battlefield. More portable units are required, according to the report, to withstand detail fire, attrite adversary forces, pose problems for the enemy, and deplete ISR resources.
However, these innovations could pose serious difficulties for US allies like Taiwan and Ukraine, both of which are expected to receive M1 tank.
Joe Biden, the president of the United States, announced in January that 31 M1A1 Abrams tanks had been delivered to Ukraine, sufficient to outfit an armoured regiment. According to Biden, Ukraine needs the tank to protect against Soviet aggression, improve its ability to move through empty landscape, and store Russia’s shifting tactics and strategies on the field.
Former USMC M1A1 tanks with Far Target Locators( FTL ) will likely be sent to Ukraine, according to David Axe in a March 2023 Forbes article. According to the author, the crew of the FTL can switch the GPS coordinates of a destination that is up to 8, 000 feet away to an ordnance shelling for fire operations.
He does, however, point out that while the US government’s most recent FTL is now two or three times more precise, the earlier USMC M1A1s had poor detail, giving tank crew accurate target sites with a 35-meter Circular Error Probability( CEP ) of up to 8, 000 feet.
The 31 M1A1 headed tanks for Ukraine won’t have the depleted uranium( DU ) armor that shields the M2 tanks in US service, according to Lara Seligman and other authors in an article published in Politico in January 2023. Instead, export models will be devoid of that armor. This gear enables US M1s to withstand the armor-piercing, depleted-uranium disease pond shells fired by China and Russia. & nbsp,
The tank are constructed in just one manufacturer in Lima, Ohio, so Seligman and other authors also point out the dubious US M1 production capacity. According to reports, the service has a minimal production potential of 100 vehicles per year compared to 250 for Russia and has struggled to meet orders from Poland and Taiwan.
Additionally, Olivia Yanchik notes in an Atlantic Council article from September 2023 that it is improbable that one regiment of M1 tanks will have a significant impact on Ukrainian battlefields and that their intended use is unknown. Yanchik asserts that when combined with good strategy and air defense assets, poor plan should never obscure the need for vehicles to breach walls or keep place.
Even though a Taiwan conflict is thought to be an air-sea battle, large M1 tanks may still be crucial in fending off an impending Chinese marine assault. Taiwan has 1, 200 tanks, far exceeding the PLA’s sealift capability to land less than half that many in a single strait crossing, according to Mandip Singh, who is conducting research for the Institute for Security & amp, Development Policy ( ISDP ) in June 2023.
However, Axe notes in a Forbes article from November 2021 that Taiwan has struggled to buy new vehicles because of Chinese force on foreign suppliers, necessitating repairs to its outdated US M48s and M60s.
He claims that even though Taiwan just bought 108 M1A2 tank from the US, the PLA may try to destroy Taiwan’s container ships before the first storm of an amphibious landing create lands because it has thousands of missiles aimed at the autonomous island.
But, according to Axe, Taiwan is well aware of the threat, has located thousands of armored vehicle hiding places, and has set aside US$ 3 million to construct bunkers for its brand-new M1 tanks.