The U.S. Army is still investing in tanks. In fact, it is requesting $723.5 million in its fiscal year 2026 budget to build and develop the next Abrams upgrade: the M1E3.

That isn’t exactly what many expected to see in the wake of drone warfare’s rise. After all, even advanced Western tanks are taking losses in Ukraine. Hundreds of videos of tank turrets being blasted skyward from top-attack munitions and FPV drone strikes have sparked a growing debate about whether manned, tracked armor still has a place on the battlefield.

Rather than walking away from tanks as the Marine Corps did, the Army wants to bring the 45-year-old lynchpin of U.S. armored warfare into the 21st century with the M1E3 Abrams. This upgrade is meant to produce a lighter and more modular platform that is built to survive a world saturated with drones and sensors. 

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The decision to pivot to the M1E3 came in 2023, when the Army canceled the SEPv4 upgrade package for the M1A2 Abrams. 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 still be based on the Abrams architecture, but it is being designed with different priorities. The Army says it wants the new tank to be modular from the start, allowing for faster integration of new armor, sensor, and protection systems as threats evolve. It also wants the tank to be more mobile, with a target weight close to 60 tons. That is still pretty heavy, but more practical for maneuverability and air transport.

Crew survivability will also be a major focus of the M1E3. Currently, Abrams are outfitted with the Trophy Active Protection System (APS) to defeat incoming threats like rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank guided missiles. This is a bolt-on solution, whereas the M1E3 will integrate active protection systems into the architecture to work with other systems. 

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">An M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank outfitted with a Trophy APS at Bergen-Hohne Training Area, Germany, July 10, 2020. Army Photo by Sgt. Evan Ruchotzke Staff Sgt. Evan Ruchotzke</figcaption></figure>

To power the next-generation Abrams, the Army is also entertaining the idea of a hybrid-electric drivetrain. The gas turbine of an Abrams is loud, hot, and thirsty for fuel. With a hybrid-electric system, the acoustic and thermal signatures are reduced, and fuel requirements will be lower. It would allow the soldiers to run communications and other equipment without running the gas engine, giving the tank a lower profile. 

One big question is what the main weapon will be. The current M1A2 Abrams has a 120mm cannon that is still considered very effective. Army officials haven’t confirmed if the M1E3 will maintain that or go larger, or with none at all, opting instead for loitering munitions, directed energy weapons, or anti-tank missiles. 

So far, there are more questions than answers about the M1E3. At least some of them will be answered when the Army takes delivery of a prototype this December, according to Colonel Ryan Howell, the acting deputy head of the Program Executive Office Ground Combat Systems (PEO GCS). This is a very tight timeline, but General Dynamics will be building off experience of the SEPv3 and SEPv4, as well as the AbramsX demonstrator. The Army is anticipating taking delivery of four M1E3 Abrams next year, allowing soldiers to begin testing the tanks in field environments. 

The decision to pursue a manned tank does come with risk. The M1E3 appears to be built around the assumption that large, crewed tanks will still be relevant on the battlefield into the 2030s. If conditions continue to shift rapidly to uncrewed systems and long-range precision fires, the Army could find itself with a 60-ton target built for the last war. 

We discuss all of this and more in our full video on Task & Purpose, where we explore whether the Army is making the right call and what the M1E3 means for the future of armor. You can watch that here.

The post The next Abrams tank, built lighter and quieter, is due next year appeared first on Task & Purpose.