Article Summary – The U.S. Army is doubling down on heavy armor with the new 60-ton M1E3 Abrams, asking $723.5 million in FY26 to move it into serial production.
-The bet: a lighter, hybrid-powered tank with modular armor, upgraded Trophy active protection, and better sensors can survive in a battlefield dominated by FPV drones and precision missiles—the same environment that mauled donated M1A1s in Ukraine.
AbramsX Tank U.S. Army Image.
-Paired with the XM30 and classic cavalry tactics, the M1E3 is meant to restore mobile shock power. The open question, and what Congress will press hard, is whether any tank can truly outrun the drone era.
The U.S. Army’s New M1E3 Abrams: Tank of the Future or Drone-War Dead Meat?
The U.S Army is forging ahead with its new M1E3 Abrams.
This will be lighter than M1A2 Abrams models and will allow for greater speed and maneuverability. The Army is serious about the M1E3.
It just requested $723.5 million for the FY2026 defense budget proposal to bring the new tank into serial use.
But is this a good idea? We know that swarming kamikaze drones have made the main battle tank (MBT) an asset that many think should disappear.
The Abrams tanks that the United States gifted to Ukraine saw little action.
The Americans sent the Ukrainians 31 refurbished M1A1 Abrams MBTs. All but four were destroyed.
The Abrams Experiment Did Not Go Well In Ukraine
The Ukrainians expected the Abrams would dominate tank-on-tank warfare, but that didn’t happen because most of the confrontations and destruction were from first-person view drones and artillery fire.
A U.S. Army M1 Abrams, assigned to 4th Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, fully emerges from the tank firing point to engage the simulated enemy at Novo Selo Training Area, Bulgaria, March 5, 2025. 1st Armored Division, a rotational force supporting V Corps, conducts training with engineers and tank operators in the European Theatre to maintain readiness and instill fundamental Soldier skills that are vital in maintaining lethality. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Kyle Kimble)
The older Abrams did not have the latest depleted uranium armor to protect against the loitering unmanned kamikaze craft. Anti-tank precision-guided missiles also took their toll.
Is the M1E3 the correct choice for the modern battlefield? How will this lighter tank survive in battle in the 2030s when anti-tank systems get even better?
Base model Abrams are over 40 years old, so an upgrade is needed. But the Army decided to scrap the Abrams SEPv4 upgrade for the M1A2.
What Happened to the SEPv3s and SEPv4s?
As Task and Purpose explained, “The SEPv4 had promised better sensors, networking, and threat detection, but at the cost of additional weight and complexity. With the SEPv3 Abrams already tipping the scales at close to 80 tons, Army leaders chose to halt those upgrades and rethink the platform from the ground up.”
The M1E3 will have better modular upgrade capabilities, sensors that can increasingly detect drone and missile threats, and updatable armor as anti-tank technology evolves.
The M1E3 will weigh only 60 tons. This will allow more agile performance and the means to get the new MBT to the battlefield quickly with easier transport options.
What Kind of Armor Will the M1E3 Feature?
Some current Abrams MBTs have the Israeli-developed Trophy Active Protection System.
A U.S. Army M1A2 SEPv2 Abrams assigned to Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division fires at a target before quickly disengaging into a defilade to load a new round at McGregor Range, New Mexico, Sept. 29, 2023. Alpha Co. executed Gunnery Table VI, which evaluates crews on engaging stationary and moving targets while utilizing all weapons systems in offensive and defensive positions, ensuring our crews are trained and ready for any mission. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. David Poleski)
This is not bad, but the M1E3 will have an option to make the Trophy even better with modular upgrade potential. And the powerplant system will be unique.
“It’ll be hybrid. It will not be fully electric,” said Dr. Alex Miller, Chief Technology Officer and Senior Advisor for Science and Technology to the Chief of Staff of the Army. “
We don’t want fully electric, because there’s no place to charge. You need the liquid fuel to actually generate power. But what we’re seeing, and I have not put this to the test, so this is just sort of the math behind it, is the way that they’re going to deliver it, it’ll be about 40 percent more fuel efficient.”
Miller was speaking at the Association of the U.S. Army’s (AUSA) confab in an interview recounted by the War Zone.
Can the improved Trophy system allow the M1E3 to survive against drones and anti-tank missiles? This is a critical question to answer. Tank defeating systems are only going to get better as U.S. adversaries like Russia and China man them.
The U.S. Army is assuming that MBTs can still make a difference on the battlefield by capturing and holding territory seized in mechanized warfare.
The New Bradley Replacement Will Help Armored Cavalry Doctrine
The armored cavalry regiment (ACR) concept is still important. Bradley Fighting Vehicles are getting replaced by the XM30 Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle. The XM30 offers more survivability for crews and soldiers riding inside.
Engineers with the 116th Brigade Engineer Battalion conduct M2A3 Bradley fighting vehicle gunnery qualification on March 27, 2018, Orchard Combat Training Center, south of Boise, Idaho. Combat engineers with the 116th BEB trained through gunnery table XII, evaluating their ability to execute collective platoon-level tasks in a tactical live-fire environment; including integrating dismounted soldiers with their assigned BFV. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by 1LT Robert Barney)
Armored cavalry regiments offer speed and surprise, plus they feature the ability of cavalry scouts to work on the ground far ahead of Abrams MBTs. This is another way the M1E3 could be successful against the new XM30.
Cavalry Scouts Can Make the Enemy Pay
Dismounted cavalry scouts in the XM30 would be able to clear a path for the M1E3. The new Abrams would not have to come into guarded territory rolling blind. Plus, the XM30 could protect the flanks of a spearhead of M1E3s in an ACR arrangement. The scouts can stop enemy combatants from firing anti-tank missiles or encroach deep enough to provoke drone launches. Then, artillery fire or multiple-launch rocket systems can be utilized to remove enemy personnel sending FPVs in the air.
If the M1E3 is successful, it could herald in a new form of maneuver warfare that can defeat anti-tank missiles and drones with reconnaissance in force and mobile screening lines. The Army may be more successful it if it focuses on basic cavalry tactics rather than the usual activity of an armored brigade combat team. The M1E3 will be fast and better protected thanks to the improved Trophy system.
An M1A2 Abrams tanks, assigned to 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, maneuver into fighting position during a battalion live-fire range during Agile Spirit 19 at Orpholo Training Area, Georgia, August 9, 2019. AgS19 is a joint, multinational exercise co-led by the Georgian Defense Forces and U.S. Army Europe which incorporates a command post exercise, field training and joint multinational live fires. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. True Thao)
But before the Army trots out a new tank, the tactics must be adjusted for the future fight. The service branch is requesting substantial funding to develop this new MBT. There are promising features, but no guarantee it can still survive on the battlefield into the 2030s.
Army generals may have to venture up to Capitol Hill, hats in hand and confidently request $723.5 million for the M1E3.
The new tank must have some buy-in from Members of Congress in the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act.
The first questions will be about survivability in a threat environment dominated by missiles and drones.
The Army needs to answer firmly that it has plans for the M1E3 to live to fight better than those failed Abrams MBTs that were gifted to the Ukrainians. Tank warfare has been nicknamed “**** on Wheels” before; let’s hope that means hell for the enemy and not hell for the friendly forces.
About the Author: Brent M. Eastwood
Author of now over 3,000 articles on defense issues, Brent M. Eastwood, PhD is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for US Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former US Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.
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