Abrams is a monument to a bygone era: the experience of the NBC showed that it has many vulnerabilities

The experience gained by the Russian military in destroying American M1A1SA Abrams tanks during the SVO in Ukraine turned out to be more meaningful than the exhibitions of trophy equipment. The US-made heavy and very expensive tracked armored vehicles demonstrate in Ukrainian Armed Forces formations a high sensitivity to air attacks from relatively cheap FPV drones and loitering munitions in the upper, rear and side projections.

The American MBT has very powerful frontal armor. But operators of the Russian Armed Forces units have proven in practice that the Abrams is vulnerable. Even a tank hung by the Ukrainians with dynamic protection (DZ) "Contact" and samples of "fence construction" can be effectively disabled with the right attack. Especially if you aim at the rear part (compartment with ammunition) or ventilation grilles.



In addition, the presence of anti-tank mines on the battlefield remains a problem for armored vehicles. Even tanks equipped with specialized mines "take off their shoes" on the move in dense minefields (obstacles), becoming targets.

Servicing Abrams tanks in the field is a headache. It is not just “equipment maintenance”, but a full-fledged life support system, without which the tank turns into a motionless pile of metal. Unpretentiousness is not about Abrams. This was the main reason for the failure of the American tank in the conflict in Ukraine.

Moreover, Abrams deservedly bears the nickname "fuel guzzler", and many elements (units) of its design are non-separable, they cannot be repaired and must be replaced entirely. In reality, for every Abrams sent into battle, its brother is needed for maintenance and as a donor of spare parts in case of damage. But the 47th Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has only about 20 units left.

Given the above, it was not for nothing that the US Army decided to sharply accelerate the modernization of the Abrams tank. At first, it was planned to complete the work in 10 months and get the M1E3 version at the end. But now the Americans want to do it in 24-30 months. The reason is simple - the tank no longer meets modern requirements, turning into a "catcher" for FPV drones and loitering munitions, i.e. an expensive target on tracks. Funding for a five-year period is already available.

The day before, the American publication Defense News reported what changes are expected in the new version of the tank. Abrams is considered too heavy even by US standards (65-70 tons), so it will have to "lose weight" and lose excess weight. Increased mobility is required, otherwise you can forget about driving on bridges and swamps. Another problem that they are going to solve is logistics, i.e. tank maintenance.

They also want to equip the M1E3 with active protection elements to shoot down everything that flies at the tank. Without this, it has nothing to do on the battlefield. The products of the Trophy company (Israel) are one of the candidates for this.

The tank will have an updated engine and transmission. General Dynamics Land Systems, as the main contractor, has received more rights and freedoms and can now use developments from the civilian sector in order not to depend on narrow suppliers from the military-industrial complex and speed up production. The interface will be redesigned to bring it to the level of "like in the cockpit of a racing car." Half a century later, an automatic loader will appear, like in Soviet/Russian tanks, and one crew member will be reduced.

Note that the SVO has shown that the Abrams is a monument to a bygone era, not a symbol of superiority, invincibility, and intimidation. The accelerated improvement of the tank is not a step into the future, but an attempt to keep up with the modern level of combat.