AbramsX future main battle tank has been revealed. The evolution of the M1 Abrams has been monumental, but with this reveal, the complete hardware of the latest battle tank is out in the open. However, it would not be wrong to say that with its highly revised turret that features multiple electro-optical sights and a remote weapon station sporting a big 30mm chain gun, this tank is one for the future battlefield.
The tank supports a hybrid powertrain, which is one of the tank’s most exciting features. This feature alone will be responsible for a 50% lesser fuel consumption. In addition, the hybrid feature will also allow the Abrams to operate silently while sitting idle, enabling the AbramsX to perform for shorter stints and providing them with a massive tactical advantage.
The tank also boasts an unmanned turret with an auto-loading ammunition system. This would assist the crew in increased surveillance and tick the box of the decreased crew in the tank. One of the most critical demands of armies around the world. The AbramsX is also way lighter than the tanks before it, the M1 variants.
The KATALYST Next Generation Electronic Architecture (NGEA) will serve as the digital backbone of the tank. This would help the tank age more gracefully and allow these to stay relevant as it will connect all its systems and provide for ease of upgradeability of its hardware and modification of its software. Additionally, the NGEA would help the tank to accommodate changing tactical realities and technologies.
There is space for other features in the turret of the tank. Those features include countermeasure grenades, active protection systems, and distributed aperture camera systems (DAS). The driver will also don an advanced sensor suite. This suit would be capable of feeding into the DAS architecture and providing a 360-degree video feed. Couple this feature with augmented reality, and the crew would practically be able to allow the crew to ‘look through the tank’s hull for a major leap in situational awareness, as well as see objects of interest highlighted digitally in their surroundings.
We may brag about the tank for days and days, but keeping the concept in view, one can make a final call on its efficacy once it is seen on an active battlefield.
