General Dynamics Land Systems is teasing a next-generation Abrams main battle tank, the original variant of which entered U.S. military service in 1981. Details about this new version’s capabilities are very limited at present, but there are clear indications that it will feature a slate of improved weapons, sensors, and other equipment over existing\u00a0M1 tanks<\/a>, including the possibility of some form of hybrid conventional-electric propulsion system.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n A dedicated website for the Next Generation Abrams\u00a0is now online<\/a>. This same website teases a slate of other “next generation” designs from General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS), including a new base configuration for the company’s\u00a0Stryker 8×8 wheeled armored vehicle<\/a>\u00a0and another planned variant in that family equipped with the\u00a0Leonidas high-power microwave directed energy weapon, the latter of which you can read more about\u00a0here<\/a>. Various unmanned ground vehicle offerings from GLDS, including a variant of the TRX tracked design\u00a0armed with dozens of loitering munitions<\/a>, which is now called Razorback, and the company entry into the U.S. Army’s\u00a0Small Multipurpose Equipment Transport<\/a>\u00a0(SMET) program, are featured on the site, as well.<\/p>\n Beyond various taglines, such as “Legend Mode” and “The Next Generation of Dominance,” there are essentially no specific details about exactly what this new Abrams configuration entails. Other separate GLDS promotional material shows that this design is almost certainly unrelated to the upgraded M1A2 System Enhanced Package Version 4 (SEPv4) variant now under development for the U.S. Army.<\/p>\n Per the U.S. military, the SEPv4 will\u00a0feature the following improvements<\/a> over the existing SEPv3 configuration:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The GDLS’ website does include a number of brief video featurettes on the Next Generation Abrams design, but which only gives passing looks at certain aspects of a computer-generated rendering. Another promotional image for the Next Generation Abrams and Stryker vehicles has been circulating online along since at least last week, as well, along with a version that has been brightened and sharpened to reveal more details. This image also includes the date October 10, 2022, which is the day that this year’s iteration of the Association of the U.S. Army’s\u00a0meeting and exposition opens<\/a>\u00a0in Washington, D.C. Defense contractors routinely unveil major new offerings and other news at this annual event.<\/p>\n From what we can see in these various promotional materials, the Nex Generation Abrams has at least some changes to the general outward shape of the hull and turret. It’s not clear whether this might reflect and changes to the crew composition in this version. All existing Abrams variants have four-person crews, with the driver in the hull and the commander, gunner, and loader in the turret.<\/p>\n One of the short video presentations has the taglines “Silent Strike” and “They’ll Never Hear Us Coming,” suggesting the possibility that the new version of the Abrams may have a hybrid propulsion system of some kind. A commonly touted benefit of\u00a0using hybrid propulsion<\/a>\u00a0on various types of military vehicles is the potential ability to operate in\u00a0an extremely quiet all-electric mode<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n When it comes to new armament, the Next Generation Abrams tank looks to have\u00a0a Kongsberg\u00a0Protector RS6<\/a>\u00a0Remote Weapon Station (RWS) armed with a variant of the 30mm M230 automatic cannon mounted on top of the turret. The lightweight M230LF version of this weapon, which the U.S. Army\u00a0has designated the XM914<\/a>, is now in U.S. military service as a component of various vehicle-mounted\u00a0short-range air defense systems<\/a>, including\u00a0multiple types<\/a>\u00a0focused\u00a0primarily on defending against<\/a>\u00a0the increasing\u00a0threat posed by small drones<\/a>. Adding an RWS with this gun to the Abrams would give the tank significant additional firepower for use against lower-end aerial threats and various ground targets, which the vehicle’s crew could operate without having to expose themselves to enemy fire.<\/p>\n There is speculation online that the Next Generation Abrams may be armed with a version of\u00a0the XM360 main gun<\/a>, an advanced 120mm type originally developed as part of the U.S. Army’s abortive Future Combat Systems (FCS) program, based on the design of the muzzle brake seen in the renderings. However, it has also been pointed out that the XM360E1, a variant developed for potential insertion into Abrams variants, did not feature this muzzle device.<\/p>\n The U.S. Army has also considered replacing the 120mm main gun on the Abrams with a larger cannon,\u00a0including an 140mm type<\/a>, in the past.<\/p>\n Two raised sensors of some kind \u2013 which could be the improved gunner’s and commander’s sights being developed for the SEPv4 variant or even more advanced substitutes for them \u2013 are visible on top of either side of the forward end of the turret, with the RS6 RWS in the center behind them. What could be elements of the Trophy active protection system (APS), versions of which\u00a0are already being installed<\/a>\u00a0on some of the\u00a0U.S. Army’s existing Abrams tanks<\/a>, may be visible on either side of the turret toward the rear.<\/p>\n There has been some discussion about whether these sensor systems might be from the PASEO line, based on the shape of the turrets. The\u00a0PASEO family<\/a>\u00a0is produced by defense conglomerate Safran, which has its main headquarters in France.<\/p>\n Regardless of the exact configuration of the Next Generation Abrams concept, it has emerged at a\u00a0time of significant debate<\/a>\u00a0over\u00a0the future of the tank<\/a>\u00a0in general as a result of\u00a0what has been<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0continues to be observed<\/a>\u00a0about the utility of heavy armor in the conflict in Ukraine. When it comes to the U.S. military, that are similarly pointed discussions occurring\u00a0about what role<\/a>\u00a0tanks and other large armored vehicles will play in future high-end conflicts, especially a potential war across the broad expanses of the Pacific against China.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The U.S. Marine Corps is\u00a0notably eliminating its entire fleet<\/a>\u00a0of M1 Abrams tanks as part of new concepts of operations that focus heavily\u00a0on expeditionary and distributed warfare<\/a>. The U.S. Army, while it\u00a0remains committed<\/a>\u00a0to the idea of operating tanks broadly, also envisions a future where various tiers of smaller, lighter armed and armored\u00a0unmanned ground vehicles<\/a>\u00a0will play important roles on the battlefield. There is no clear word yet on what manned-unmanned teaming capabilities may be found on the future M1A2 SEPv4 variant or the Next Generation Abrams design.<\/p>\n Other countries around the world, including numerous American allies, are looking into\u00a0the next generation of tanks<\/a>, and exploring\u00a0what those vehicles might look like<\/a>, too. Just this week, German firm Rheinmetall unveiled a new tank design of its own,\u00a0the 130mm-cannon-armed KF51 Panther<\/a>. This tank looks set to be a competitor to a Franco-German design\u00a0now being developed jointly<\/a>\u00a0by KNDS, a consortium that includes Germany’s KMW and France’s Nexter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/next-gen-abrams-website.webp\")
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