THEAbrams Books M1 may have lost the status of the world's most powerful tank. According to three-star general John M. Murray, who recently spoke before Congress, we can now consider ourselves equality. Several tanks - including two under Russia - equal the capabilities of the main third generation main battle tank deployed by the armed forces of the United States of America.
Produced by General Dynamics Corp., Abrams entered service in the 1980 and has long been the first of the class on every battlefield, but now has rivals at its height, explained the lt. January Murray to the Senate Armed Services Committee's Airland subcommittee.
When questioned about which are the tanks that threaten a parity with theAbrams Books, Murray replied: "I would say the Israeli Merkava. The Russian T-90 is probably quite on par, while the new Army is not yet fully operational. The British tank Challenger 2 can also be considered on par. But I'm optimistic when I say au pair".
Certainly not a great concern, considering that two of the three tied are under two very faithful allies of the United States; but let's still take a look at these tanks that boast parity, or a slight superiority, with the tank that bears the name of the famous commander of the armored divisions in World War II: General Creighton W. Abrams.
Merkava MK-IV
Il Merkava (photo on the right), under the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) entered service in the 1978, but the development of its latest version - the MK-IV - goes back to the 2004. Manufactured by Mantak in collaboration with IDF Ordnance Corp., the Merkeva weighs 65 tons, has 4 crew members, can reach 65 km / h and is armed with a smooth-bore 120mm gun. The goal of the IDF is to integrate a system capable of destroying anti-tank missiles: Active Protection System Trophy.
T-90A (v.articolo)
The T-90, third generation MBT, entered service in the 1993 and its latest version became operational from the 2004. Produced by the Ural Design Bureau of Transport Machine-Building (Uralvagonzavod), it can reach 60 km / h, has three crew members, mounts a smooth-bore 125 mm cannon and is equipped with an active-protection system.
T-14 Army (v.articolo)
The T-14 (left photo), should weigh 50 tons and boast the same specifications as its predecessor. Also produced by Uralvagonzavod it could be able to reach 90 km / h, but according to general Murray it would not be considered still operational.
Challenger 2
The FV4034 Challenger 2, under the armored divisions of the United Kingdom, is produced by BAE Systems Plc and entered service in the 1998 to replace its predecessor, the Challenger 1. The updated variant of this MBT weighs around 63 tons, has a crew of four, can reach a top speed of 60 km / h and mounts a 120 mm rifled barrel.
For its part, the latest version of the Abrams, - the M1A2 - weighs about 72 tons, carries a crew of four: commander, gunner, servant and pilot; it can reach a maximum speed of 67 km / h and is armed with a smooth-bore 120 mm M256A1 cannon.
Murray concluded the session by saying that: "All reachable limits have been reached on the Abrams platform". So - although no theoretical adversary can be considered in an 'overmatch' condition - the time has come to look at a new generation tank. The spokesperson of General Dynamics has obviously responded to the call, communicating that his company is ready for the challenge.
(photo: US DoD, IDF, Russian Fed. MoD)
