The M1E3 Abrams prototype is ready: when the US Army will receive the latest tanks (video)

"When the chief of staff and I came to Detroit 18 months ago, we were told that the M1E3 would not appear until 2032. We said no," Miller said. According to him, the tank should appear by the end of this year, and by the end of 2026 a whole platoon of these vehicles will be ready. Thus, the prototype of the newest "Abrams" will be ready in December "with the paint not yet dry.

" Observers of The War Zone noted that one of the key elements of the new machine will be a hybrid power plant, which provides up to 40% fuel savings compared to the gas turbine engine of the current Abrams. The engine will be produced by Caterpillar, the transmission by the Spanish company SAPA. "It will be a hybrid. It will not be fully electric. We don't want fully electric because there is no place to charge. But the hybrid will give a serious gain in terms of fuel and autonomy," Miller believes.

The total weight of the machine is about 60 tons, which is significantly less than the 78-ton Abrams M1A2 SEPv3. Moreover, weight loss became one of the priority tasks of the program. It is noted that the M1E3 will receive an integrated active protection system (APS), which is a development of the Israeli Trophy system, which is already used on the Abrams. It is capable of intercepting ATGMs, grenades and short-range missiles, and the new version will also provide protection against drones.

The use of modular armor is also planned, including increased protection against attacks from above, a trend that has become widespread since the war in Ukraine. The option of installing a new, more powerful weapon, as well as automatic charging, is being considered, which will make it possible to reduce the crew to three people and reduce the dimensions of the tower.

In addition, GDLS presented at the conference a new PERCH (Precision Effects & Reconnaissance, Canister-Housed) launch module capable of launching the Switchblade 300 and 600 barrage munitions. In general, the development of the M1E3 is carried out on a modular basis - with an open architecture for easier integration of new system and upgrade in the future. Previously, we wrote in detail about the technical characteristics and features of the newest American tank Abrams M1E3.