The United States Army has released the first specifications of the next generation tank. It will need to be integrated, for example, with swarm drones and other robotic assets. Its weight will have to be significantly less than that of the current front-line tanks, but with the same fire capacity. Suspensions, underbody, and crew compartments shall be designed from the ground up and capable of withstanding anti-personnel mines and improvised explosive devices. Finally, the propulsion is entrusted to diesel-electric engines.
The US military plans to put the new tank into service by 2035. Translated, it means that both research and development have already begun. According to General Herbert McMaster, director of the United States Army Capabilities Integration Center, by 2030 Russia will overtake US forces in three of the ten key areas of the army and achieve the same capabilities in six more. Only in one area will the Russians be left behind in 2030.
“From the US point of view, the current M1 Abrams heavy tank and the M2 Bradley infantry armored tank have been updated so many times that they are now close to their final version. At the same time, we have enormous opportunities associated with the level of maturity reached by technologies that can be exploited to build a new next-generation tank. Of course, we can continue to install all the new devices on our vehicles, but sooner or later the old design will determine diminishing returns ”.
The reference is to the armor of the M1 tank. Due to its weight it cannot cross many bridges in Eastern Europe. In this case, you cannot simply increase the armor. Russian-made missiles, on the other hand, are becoming more and more effective so it is necessary to obtain more protection. The Active Protection System uses radar to detect incoming projectiles and mini-missiles to intercept them. Despite the effectiveness of the system, the Abrams was not designed to power such an asset.
The M1 was built to handle the recoil of a 120mm smooth-bore gun and to accommodate a crew of four. Replacing the 120mm gun with a kinetic energy weapon would have the same destructive effect. Benefiting from this would be the entire design and weight of the tank. In fact, the new US tank of 2030 deems human personnel aboard completely superfluous. Since today's armor is designed to defend the crew within it, a weapon system without such a human trait would respond to different specifications.
The next US tank may well be a highly maneuverable vehicle equipped with kinetic weapons and controlled remotely.
(Photo: DARPA)
