US General on role of tanks in future wars Using example of Ukraine; VIDEO

The US Army is evaluating what it will need beyond the latest version of the M1 Abrams tank, according to Army leaders overseeing ground combat systems and next-generation combat vehicle development.

According to Defense News, the upgraded version of the tank is due to be delivered to the service next spring.

The new NGCV cross-functional team lead, Brig. Gen. Geoffrey Norman, spent the last seven months in Poland with the 1st Infantry Division. “We had a great opportunity to work not only with Poles, but with the Lithuanians and other European partners on the Eastern Front, see what was happening in Ukraine very closely day in and day out,” he said during interview.

His observations there reinforced the “necessity of having operational mobility, the ability to get your vehicles where they need to be on the battlefield,” he said.

General Dynamic Land Systems, which manufactures the Abrams tank, is bringing what it’s calling AbramsX to AUSA this year. AbramsX is a technology demonstrator with reduced weight and the same range as the current tank with 50% less fuel consumption, the company told Defense News ahead of the show.

The AbramsX has a hybrid power pack that enables silent watch capability and “some silent mobility,” which means it can run certain systems on the vehicle without running loud engines.

The tank also has an artificial intelligence capability embedded in the system that enables “lethality, survivability, mobility and manned/unmanned teaming,” GDLS said.

Norman said the war in Ukraine has shown the tank remains needed.

“Tanks are in certain instances vulnerable, no doubt about it, but trucks are even more vulnerable and soldiers without any protection are the most vulnerable,” Norman said. “So what we need to do is not figure out what we’re going to do without tanks, without Bradley [Infantry Fighting Vehicles] or without armored fighting vehicles, but figure out how to best protect them and give them the best mobility possible to present those strategic and operational and tactical dilemmas to our adversaries.”