Army overhauls M1 Abrams tank upgrade plan, will build quicker battlefield vehicle

The Army on Wednesday announced plans to scrap the original upgrade to its M1 Abrams tank in favor of a new version that the service is calling an apex predator of 21st-century ground combat vehicles.

The war in Ukraine, Army officials said, has offered key lessons about the capabilities needed in the next generation of tanks. 

“We appreciate that future battlefields pose new challenges to the tank as we study recent and ongoing conflicts” Brig. Gen. Geoffrey Norman, director of the Army’s Next-Generation Combat Vehicle Cross Functional Team, said in a statement. “We must optimize the Abrams’ mobility and survivability to allow the tank to continue to close with and destroy the enemy as the apex predator on future battlefields.”

Army leaders stressed that the Ukraine-Russia war has proved the need for light, fast, agile ground vehicles, meaning that adding more weight to the Abrams isn’t a realistic option. The current Abrams can weigh well over 70 tons.

“The Abrams rank can no longer grow its capabilities without adding weight, and we need to reduce its logistical footprint,” said Army Maj. Gen. Glenn Dean, program executive officer for Ground Combat Systems. “The war in Ukraine has highlighted a critical need for integrated protections for soldiers, built from within instead of adding on.”

Ultimately, Army officials said, the new approach will result in “a more survivable, lighter tank” better able to handle the threats on today’s battlefield, including the proliferation of small, cheap armed drones designed to cripple relatively heavy, slow-moving ground combat vehicles.

Wednesday’s announcement marks the formal end to the Army’s M1A2 System Enhancement Package version 4 effort to upgrade the Abrams. In its place, the Army will develop a new version of the vehicle, the M1E3 Abrams. The new vehicle is expected to be operational by the early 2030s, Army officials said.

In the meantime, the Ukrainian army soon will get its first shipment of current-generation Abrams tanks. The U.S. over the summer approved sending the vehicles to Ukraine. The first batch of 10 tanks reportedly will arrive there this month.

Western officials hope those vehicles will aid in Ukraine’s counteroffensive, which has begun to gain ground in recent weeks, U.S. officials have said, as Kyiv slowly pierces Russia’s heavily fortified defensive lines in eastern Ukraine.