It's a tank redesigned from the ground up
with lessons from the Ukraine war in mind. In many ways, this makes it a tank of the
future, including artificial intelligence, enhanced sensors, and the ability to defeat the
same Javelin and NLAW missiles that have been savaging Russia's tank fleet. It's the AbramsX, a
huge evolutionary leap forward from the venerable stalwart tank design of the US Army- but it might
be so revolutionary that the army won't buy it. In 1979 the first M1 Abrams was revealed
to great fanfare. It was replacing the M60, a Cold War stalwart, and meant to
go toe-to-toe with Soviet tanks, who were slowly but surely gaining the
upper hand. It's designers were confident the Abrams could defeat the best the Soviets
could throw at it, but nobody was sure this risky redesign of traditional American
tanks would really be up to the task. Then in 1991 the Abrams got to
show the world just how it would have handled itself in a winner-take-all
battle for Europe. Taking on hordes of Soviet-built main battle tanks in
the hands of veteran Iraqi crews, the Abrams absolutely eviscerated the
competition, with the only losses being due to friendly fire. It was clear that the
United States had won the tank competition. But that was forty years ago, and now the US faces
new threats. That's why General Dymamics believes that it's time for a drastic redesign of this
American classic, but the US Army isn't convinced. Current Abrams feature a 120-millimeter main
gun that can fire datalinked ammunition, depleted uranium armor in combination with
highly classified British chobham armor, thermal sights, a fire computer to help the crew
hit targets even at full speed on bumpy terrain, a networked capability to help it
communicate with other friendly assets, and finally the Trophy active protection system
to allow it to defeat enemy anti-tank missiles. The AbramsX builds on these
strengths and then enhances them. First is the new gun. While it's still a 120mm
cannon, the new gun spotted on a General Dynamics technology demonstrator is the XM360, a cannon
originally developed in the early 2000s for the Army's Future Combat Systems. This program
was meant to catapult the US army into a new era of technological domination, but after 18
billion spent the program failed to produce a single working combat vehicle. However, while
the FCS was an abject failure as a whole, it produced a great deal of successes
and taught the army many lessons. The XM360 cannon is one of these breakthroughs.
While it and the current M256 cannon both share the same ammunition and have roughly the same
firing characteristics, the XM360 is much lighter thanks to the use of titanium and composites. That
might not seem like a big upgrade, but when you're talking about gas-guzzling, fuel-hungry vehicles
that weigh over 60 tons, every single pound shed means enhanced mobility, endurance, and speed.
You're going to hear this a lot in this episode, because the AbramsX is so new and top secret
that details are extremely scarce, but other performance upgrades that this new cannon uses are
unsurprisingly classified. However, we expect that this new cannon will provide the ability to use
all sorts of new datalinked ammo types, though an Abrams won't be shooting anti-tank missiles out of
its barrel anytime soon like some Russian designs. When your cannon is as lethal as an Abrams',
you don't need fancy missiles to wreck targets. Weight is a big deal with modern main battle
tanks, and the M1 Abrams has been putting on weight like a pro heavyweight fighter in intense
training. When it first came out of development, the Abrams weighed a bulky 60 tons. However,
after a slew of upgrades including new engines, depleted uranium armor, and enhanced
survivability packages for urban combat, the Abrams was starting to look like it'd
been going too hard on its heavyweight diet. Clocking in at 73.6 tons, the Army
has serious concerns about how current Abrams would fare in combat today- bridge
crossings are especially concerning as this much weight puts the Abrams out of the safety
limit for many civilian bridge infrastructure. It's increasingly looking like current Abrams
should learn how to swim or will have to rely on engineers to build them bridges, a dicey
proposition- just ask the Russians in Ukraine. The AbramsX is purported to have dramatically
cut the weight of this mighty war machine, though how and where remains classified. Returning
to its roots, the AbramsX is back at its fighting weight of 60 tons without losing any of its
current capabilities. Reduced weight in the cannon and the use of composites elsewhere is
largely to thank for this engineering feat, but other weight-cutting measures remain to
be disclosed- and probably will never be. Reduced crew might be a reason for lower
weight, as the AbramsX features the first American 3-crew design. The Soviets initially
designed auto-loaders for their tanks at the start of the Cold War, and this promised to
relieve the logistical burden of an extra crew member. However, American observers noticed
that the autoloaders experienced frequent breakdowns and other technical problems, thus
giving America a serious distaste for them. Despite the fact that many modern tanks such
as the Leopard 2, Japanese Type 10, and South Korean K2 all feature auto-loaders, the US Army
isn't convinced that this is the right call. They prefer the good old human auto-loader, who
cannot jam or experience any other mechanical or electrical malfunction. Plus, human auto-loaders
tend to provide for a higher rate of fire, though after loading a dozen or more heavy tank shells
the human is going to eventually get worn out. There's practical reasons for the Abrams to retain
a fourth crew member though. In case of a track being thrown, the crew has to get out and perform
a fix themselves. With tracks weighing hundreds of pounds, that extra pair of hands is a huge help.
This also applies for other regular maintenance which a fourth person really helps with. In
case the tank breaks down in hostile territory, a fourth crew member can help provide
added security to the stricken tank. But the AbramsX is going European with the
introduction of an auto-loader. It promises to provide the same rate of fire as a human
loader with increased reliability. It also has one other huge benefit- the crew has been
removed from the turret and placed inside of the hull itself. This is a dramatic improvement for
crew survivability as the armor in the hull is thicker and more difficult to penetrate, while in
current designs part of the crew is in the turret itself. The new Abrams features three crew hatches
at the front of the tank, allowing the entire crew to exit in case of an emergency and removing a
fundamental weak point of current Abrams design, as the hatch is a significant weak
spot in the already weaker top armor. The US Army remains skeptical however. The turret does feature one significant upgrade
over the Abrams though, and thats' the inclusion of a 30 millimeter chain gun to replace the
traditional .50 caliber machine gun operated by the commander, and the loader's M240 7.62
mm machine gun. Here too the army is split, as this is both an upgrade and a downgrade.
Built with lessons from Ukraine in mind, the XM914 30mm chain gun fires at blistering
speeds and is designed to take on everything from lightly armored vehicles like the Rusian
BMP 3, to drones and other low flying vehicles. This allows the tank to save its main gun ammo
for thicker-skinned targets like enemy tanks. But it also means that there's one less machine
gun protecting the tank from enemy infantry. If the AbramsX does ever make it into production,
don't be surprised if the Army demands that the 7.62mm machien gun be put back on the vehicle.
A serious upgrade though that the Army can't complain about is the remote control technology
that allows the 30mm chain gun to be controlled from the safety of the tank's interior.
Current machine guns on the Abrams require an operator to have half their body hanging
out of the tank, an obvious risk in a hectic battlefield. From the safety of the tank's
thick armored hull though, the crew can use a variety of vision modes including thermal to
fire the chain gun and obliterate enemy threats. Perhaps the biggest visible change that the
AbramsX brings to the table, and one the Army is enticed by, is the new hybrid electric/diesel
engine. Current Abrams use a gasoline engine, and it is an absolute gas-guzzling monster,
consuming just over 1 gallon per mile traveled. The range of an M1 today is around 275 miles,
meaning that America's tanks have to be closely followed by logistical support which makes for
a very tempting target. However, the AbramsX promises 50% enhanced fuel efficiency, and the
switch to diesel is seriously attractive to the Army given that the rest of its vehicle fleet also
relies on diesel. This would significantly reduced logistical strain and costs, as the entire
army fleet could share just one fuel type. The new engine also comes with new battery
packs that will hold a classified level of charge. General Dynamics has promised that
the AbramsX will be able to operate in silent, battery powered mode while stationary. This will
allow the tank to run its full suite of sensors and sights without cranking up the engine, thus
presenting an even more obvious target to the enemy's heat seeking missiles and drones. However,
a big change is a hinted at possibility that the AbramsX will have some limited mobility while
in battery mode. This means that the biggest, baddest tank in the world could transform
into a ninja for short amounts of time. Other than armor, few things about the AbramsX
are classified as its new artifical intelligence technologies. General Dynamics has not
released many details, but says that the tank's AI suite will be able to assist crews by
identifying targets for them amidst the chaos of a battlefield. Using advanced algorithms,
the tank will be able to detect enemy vehicles and classify them as threats or non-threats,
even the type of vehicle despite rain, snow, smoke, or thick fog. It'll then suggest ammo
type and a firing solution for the commander, though it will be the commander who
makes the final call. Despite fears, the AbramsX is not going to take over the
world if its AI goes rogue. At least for now. As seen in the war in Ukraine, modern
tanks are incredibly vulnerable to both drones and advanced anti-tank missiles
such as Javelin and NLAW. That's why the AbramsX is built from the ground up with
this threat in mind. Many have observed the truly apocalyptic scale of losses amongst
Russian armored forces and wondered if there was any future for tanks anymore. However,
the AbramsX's active protection system will allow it to blast incoming rockets and
missiles, allegedly providing the tank protection even from weapons like America's
own Javelin which has mauled Russian tanks. And if the tank does take a significant hit,
American tank crews won't have to worry about competing with their Russian counterparts
in the turret tossing olympics. Russia will retain the gold medal in turret
tossing for the foreseeable future, with their tanks achieving some truly Skyrim Space
Program-worthy heights. The reason so many Russian tanks are built as both tank and aircraft is
because the Russians decided to have the tank's ammunition ring the entire turret. Thus when the
tank takes an even moderate hit to the turret, all of the ammo goes off and sends the turret
into orbit while incinerating the crew. America likes its soldiers to be soldiers and not
astronauts, so Abrams tanks have always kept the ammo in a separate compartment with the inclusion
of blowout panels. The AbramsX has been spotted with what appears to be a blowout panel atop the
turret, continuing the proud Western tradition of not having your tank send your entire crew
into space from one RPG hit to the turret. Details may be scarce, but the AbramsX already
looks set to be a significant starting place for a big leap forward in American tank design. However,
it faces significant challenges even just getting funded, as the Army is already displeased with
some of its basic design elements like the loss of a fourth crew member. However, the biggest
barrier standing in the AbramsX's way is the fact that the United States military does not
currently face a serious land threat. Instead, it looks like its next war will be against China,
and a Sino-American war will take place at sea and in the air. US tank crews are extremely
unlikely to see any action in such a war, and thus funding priorities for a new
battle tank remain incredibly low. Now go check out Hitler's Insane 1000 ton war
machine, or click this other video instead!
