How the Army’s M1 Abrams Refresh Will Help It Serve Longer Than Any Other Tank in History

The U.S. Army wants to put the M1 Abrams on a diet. Last week, the Army announced the next version of the M1 Abrams tank will be known as the M1E3. The E stands for “engineering,” meaning the tank will receive “an engineering change… that is more significant than a minor modification,” according to the press release.

The next Abrams tank will be over 10 tons lighter. At the same time, it will incorporate a slew of new capabilities—plus features that the tanks of today can’t do without, as learned from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The end result is a tank platform that will probably serve for 80 years, the longest of any tank anywhere in history.

E Is for Engineering

The original M1 Abrams, introduced in 1978, was known simply as the M1. In 1985, a new version, with a new M256 120mm main gun and depleted uranium armor, became known as the M1A1. In the 1990s, the next version was fielded as the M1A2, mainly distinguished by a second, separate thermal sight for the gunner, new navigation and communications systems, and information sharing systems with other Army hardware.

The AbramsX, revealed by General Dynamics in October 2022, is everything the Army wants (and needs) in a new tank.

The M1A2 has been the standard ever since. Incremental upgrades have included the M1A2 System Enhancement Package (SEP), the M1A2SEPv2, and then the latest version, the M1A2SEPv3. The Army’s decision to include bigger, more consequential updates into the next version, means the future tank—formerly known as M1A2SEPv4—has been redesignated as M1E3. Once development is complete and the Army is buying the tank for the troops, it will be designated the M1A3.

Lessons From Ukraine

Russia has lost 2,310 tanks in Ukraine, including this T-80 series main battle tank seen here. The U.S. Army is eager to incorporate lessons from the war into the next version of the Abrams.

According to the Army, the new Abrams tank will reflect lessons learned from the war in Ukraine. The service quoted Major General Glenn Dean, program executive officer for ground combat system, saying, “The Abrams Tank can no longer grow its capabilities without adding weight, and we need to reduce its logistical footprint.”

The Abrams tank is notoriously tough on logistics. The original M1 Abrams weighed 60 tons. The M1A2SEPv2 weighs 71.2 tons. The tank’s AGT-1500 gas turbine engine guzzles fuel at a startling 5.93 gallons per mile, and it has a 495-gallon fuel tank. All of that means it takes 2000 gallons of fuel to top off a platoon of four Abrams tanks.

Dean also says the tank needs new features that Russia’s war in Ukraine has shown modern tanks can’t do without: “The war in Ukraine has highlighted a critical need for integrated protections for soldiers, built from within instead of adding on.” These integrated protections will likely include an active protection system (APS) that can detect incoming rockets and missiles, intercepting them with a shotgun-like blast of pellets, and a counter-drone system that can automatically detect, track, and shoot down drones.

What Will the M1E3 Look Like?

The M1E3 will likely include an active protection system, such as the Trophy APS seen here on an M1 Abrams during exercise Saber Guardian, 2019. The solid green part of the turret is the Trophy system.

General Dynamics Land Systems, according to Defense News, is preparing to use its new AbramsX concept tank introduced last fall “to define what is possible” for the M1E3. The AbramsX includes a new turret, new main gun, new autoloader, 30mm chain gun, APS, and new power plant, all while reducing the number of crew members from four to three, reducing fuel consumption by 50 percent, and resetting the tank’s weight back to 60 tons.

The AbramsX is basically everything the U.S. Army wants in the M1E3. Unfortunately, new tanks are expensive, with the current M1A2 Abrams costing $10 million per tank. The AbramsX will cost even more. The Army might be able to once again refurbish old tanks into new tanks, a process that has saved billions over the past two decades, but photos of the AbramsX appear to show a new hull with new features, all of which would preclude using old hulls.

An Abrams tank fires during a gunnery proficiency table on August 4, 2017, during annual training at Camp Ripley, Minnesota.

The M1E3 will probably be a compromise tank, taking key features from the AbramsX. It could take the new turret and hybrid engine system, or a different, smaller subset of features more easily backfitted into the tank’s existing hull and turret.

Reducing weight will require thoughtful consideration, because new equipment means new weight. The Israeli-made Trophy APS, for example, already fitted to a brigade’s worth of Abrams tanks, weighs 2.5 tons alone.

The Takeaway

The U.S. Army is overdue for a new Abrams tank, but the strategic shift to the Asia-Pacific, where the service plays a lesser role, means it probably won’t get a brand new tank. A cheaper upgrade of the M1 Abrams is an easier sell. All of this means that the Abrams isn’t going away anytime soon, and will probably be the Army’s longest serving tank by a considerable margin.

Kyle Mizokami

Kyle Mizokami is a writer on defense and security issues and has been at Popular Mechanics since 2015. If it involves explosions or projectiles, he's generally in favor of it. Kyle’s articles have appeared at The Daily Beast, U.S. Naval Institute News, The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, Combat Aircraft Monthly, VICE News, and others. He lives in San Francisco.