Drone attacks from above, top-down anti-tank missiles, and hit-and-run ambushes have quietly rewritten what a main battle tank needs to survive. The U.S. Army’s answer is the M1E3, a 60-ton next-generation tank intended to replace the 70-ton M1 Abrams that has anchored American armor since the Cold War. The new tank trades weight for survival in a different way — diesel-electric hybrid propulsion that allows silent watch mode, hemispheric Active Protection Systems engineered for top-down drone threats, and a fleet of robotic wingmen, ground and air drones that can scout ahead, deliver ammunition, and even strike when a human commands.
The M1E3 Questions
Soldiers with 1st Battalion, 68th Armor regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division execute platoon live fire exercises Dec. 7, 2021, Fort Carson, Colorado. Platoon live fire exercises prove a platoon’s ability to engage targets and maneuver together on their M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks. (U.S. Army photo by Capt. Tobias Cukale)
An M1A2 Abrams Tank fires a round at Fort Stewart, GA., June 23, 2025. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. David Resnick)
U.S. Marine Corps M1A1 Abrams tank provides suppressive fire against simulated insurgents during day 18 of the Integrated Training Exercise 13-1 at Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Base, Calif., Jan 22, 2013. The ITX is the training exercise that Marines come to prior to deploying. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Stephany Richards)
Drone attacks from the air, top-down anti-tank guided missiles, hit-and-run ambushes from dispersed groups of armed soldiers, and long-range enemy missiles and tank rounds…. are a few of the threats the Army’s new M1E3 60-ton tank will need to address.
The M1E3 Tank Is the Future
The explosion of AI and drone warfare is massively reshaping the landscape of modern warfare, and the success of anti-armor weapons has led some to posit that perhaps the main battle tank has become obsolete.
Perhaps heavy armor is simply too vulnerable to dismounted anti-armor weapons and drones to be considered relevant in modern war?
The U.S. Army is seeking to address this problem and surge forward with a main battle tank adapted to a modern AI- and drone-capable threat environment.
One thing seems clear: with the tactical and technological adjustments necessary to accommodate modern warfare, the main battle tank is going nowhere.
There is no other way to fully “breach” an enemy perimeter, maneuver to contact, and actually seize and hold ground.
Despite the success of anti-armor weapons and the destruction of tanks in the war in Ukraine, the arrival of heavily armored vehicles did help the Ukrainians take back ground from Russia during their previous counteroffensive.
An M1A2 SEP v2 Abrams assigned to Bravo Company, 4th Battalion, 70th Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, fires at a target during a zero range at Rodriguez Live-Fire Complex, South Korea, Aug. 5, 2024. The unit is participating in a deployment readiness exercise in support of Operation Pacific Fortitude, which supports long-standing agreements to the Republic of Korea by deploying forces, drawing and transporting equipment to validate unit readiness and the U.S. commitment to the alliance. (U.S. Army photo by Cpl. David Poleski)
New Generation of Tank
Some of the specific weapons, sensors, and countermeasures being integrated into the Army’s new tank are likely unavailable for security reasons, yet there is a wide range of threats the new platform will need to counter.
One useful way to consider potential requirements for the M1E3 is to examine the challenge areas associated with the 70-ton Abrams tanks, which the Army’s new platform may be well positioned to address.
There are several key areas of focus, including on-board electrical power, weight and mobility, vulnerability to anti-armor weapons, deployability difficulties, and countering the drone attack threat.
For context, it seems worth noting that the Abrams tank has indeed proven invaluable in armored combat and achieved many historic battlefield successes, such as its ability to destroy Iraqi T-72s in the Gulf War.
It has a massive psychological “deterrent” effect, and a heavy tank may be one of the few ways to truly “take” and “hold” enemy territory, something which was again demonstrated in Ukraine.
The Abrams has also had success with Auxiliary Power Units designed to bring necessary increases in on-board power to support sensing, computing, and C4ISR. Add-on armor kits improved survivability, and the Abrams can now fire an advanced Multi-Purpose 120mm round that combines multiple blast effects into a single munition.
U.S. Soldiers assigned to 2nd Battalion, 70th Armor Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division supporting the 4th Infantry Division, maneuver an M1A2 Abrams tank while participating in a combined arms rehearsal during Anakonda23 at Nowa Deba, Poland, May 14, 2023. Anakonda23 is Poland’s premier national exercise that strives to train, integrate and maintain tactical readiness and increase interoperability in a joint multinational environment, complimenting the 4th Inf. Div.’s mission in Europe, which is to participate in multinational training and exercises across the continent while collaborating with NATO allies and regional security partners to provide combat-credible forces to V Corps, America’s Forward deployed corps in Europe. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1st Class Theresa Gualdarama)
For these and many other reasons, the Abrams tank is likely here to stay for many years, particularly given its growing ability to network with unmanned systems and improve survivability through top-down protection, drone launch, and AI-enabled sensing, targeting, and computing.
Tanks are often distinguished by the range and fidelity of their “thermal sights,” something which enabled Abrams tanks to “see” and “target” Iraqi tanks from undetected distances during the Gulf War.
This dynamic is likely why the M1A2 SEP v3 was engineered with 3rd-generation FLIR (forward-looking infrared) targeting technology, which brought breakthrough range and resolution to modern combat.
Tank Adaptations: Maybe Lasers?
The adaptations to the Abrams, which have taken place progressively over many years, sought to address the kinds of deficits, liabilities, and technical challenges that required upgrades to the platform; these areas of challenge are likely closely intertwined with the technologies and strategies informing M1E3 development.
Therefore, the M1E3 is much faster and lighter at 60 tons, and therefore better suited for deployment and expeditionary operations.
A smaller, lighter, faster tank will also, of course, be positioned to maneuver through urban areas, transit over bridges that existing Abrams can’t transit, and pass through narrowly configured passageways.
Ideally, the M1E3’s lighter weight can be achieved without compromising the Abrams tanks’ classic survivability, perhaps through the discovery of lightweight composite armor materials or a new generation of Active Protection Systems.
Speed itself is, of course, also a survivability-enhancing characteristic, and it’s likely the M1E3 is engineered with advanced, hemispheric APS better positioned to counter drone attack and top-down anti-armor strikes.
U.S. Army Spc. Harry Santiago IV, assigned to the Multi-Functional Reconnaissance Company, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), launches a Skydio X2D drone on Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, Romania, July 09, 2025. V Corps provides essential support to multinational training and exercises of robust and evolving complexity, scope, scale, rigor, and operational conditions and provides targeted security force assistance alongside national and multinational corps and divisions. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Breanna Bradford)
Counter-UAS must be a massive priority with the M1E3, given the extent to which tanks have been decimated in Ukraine by drones able to loiter then “attack” tanks from the air.
These kinds of C-UAS technologies likely involve both kinetic interceptor missiles, APS-fired rounds to “stop” incoming munitions, and possibly even lasers designed to incinerate or disable drones directly from the vehicle.
EW, Lasers & Hybrid Electric Power
Perhaps even more important, it is nearly a certainty that the M1E3 will operate with new generations of EW, as advanced systems can now help deconflict the spectrum, identify enemy signatures and RF signals, and “jam,” “disable,” or even “take over” attacking drones.
High-Powered Microwave weapons are also emerging quickly as a key area of focus when it comes to the challenges associated with countering drone attacks. It would not be surprising to learn that the M1E3 operates with AI-enabled C-UAS and threat-oriented computing able to find, verify, and validate targets and pair them with an optimal countermeasure or effector … in milliseconds.
By operating with a diesel-electric hybrid engine, the M1A3 will not only be more fuel-efficient and operate with silent “watch” capability, but will also benefit from large on-board electrical power generated by the diesel-electric engine.
This will provide the necessary on-board power to support electronics, sensors, targeting, and AI-enabled computing at lighter weights without adding APUs.
Perhaps the largest area of difference with the M1A3 will be its ability to operate with ground and air robotic “wingmen” unmanned platforms and drones able to deliver ammunition, conduct highly critical reconnaissance and ISR in forward, hostile areas, and even launch attacks when directed by a human.
This greatly improves the survivability equation and can enable the M1A3 to operate almost like an extremely lethal, forward-operating, multi-domain command-and-control platform, capable of directing attacks from the forward edge of combat.
About the Author: Kris Osborn
Kris Osborn is a Military Technology Editor. Osborn is also President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a highly qualified expert in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University
