M1 Abrams

The M1 Abrams is the Military of the United States of America's Main Battle Tank. Named after General Crieghton Abrams, the M1 series is a powerfully armed, extremly well protected and highly mobile main battle tank. The Abrams tank is used to destroy enemy tanks, vehicles, emplacments and to support ground infantry. It is outfited with Heavy composite, RHA, depleted uanium mesh called Chobham Armor. It is the Heaviest tank in the world, weighing in at almost 69.5 tons.

The M1 was first incorporated into the U.S .Army in 1980, after many design requirment changes and set backs. It replaced the M60 Patton which had been in service for more than 20 years. Although designed to replace it, the sturdy Patton tank was still used alongside the Abrams untill the early 1990's. Thier are three distinct versions of the vehicle, with many subvariants and modifications. The main three variants are the M1, the M1A1 and the M1A2, each more inproved than the last in terms of firepower, accuracy, protection and electronics. It is the main battle tank for not only the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marine Corps but also the armys of Egypt, Kuwiat, Saudi Arabia and Australia.

Design History
The order for prototypes of what would become America's next main battle tank were first designed in 1973 after the Department of Defence(DoD) requested prototypes from two companys, Chrysler Defence and General Motors Company. Each company, after designing thier prototype with input from the failed MBT 70 program which was the predcessor to the M1 program, would build one prototype and an extra hull and turret for ballistics(armor) testing and the best one would be awardeed a contract for more prototypes to be made. In 1976, Chrysler Defence was awarded a contract for more prototypes to be built. Testing started in 1978 as soon as the first prototypes arrived. By 1979, the Abrams was ordered into production and in 1980, the first production model M1 rolled of the assembly line. The Abrams was oredered into series production in 1981. Even though the M1 was in full scall production, it still did not meet some of the critical goals set during the design phase. In fact the only reason it was being made at all by that point was that the Army concluded they needed the tank so badley that they would make it at its current capability and make improvments along the way. One of these improvments resaulted in the IPM1.

The M1 Improved Product(IPM1) was first made in 1985. Some of the improvments feartured in the upgrade were, among others, more armor at the front of the vehicle and an added bustle rack to the back of the turret which was used to carry equipment. The M1A1 tank was first produced in 1984. It was a major improvment over the original M1 tank in it's new and much more powerful 120mm gun, advanced and improved armor which incorporated Depleted Uranium, and improved suspension, and the addition of a Nuclear, Biological and Chemical(NBC) filtration system.

The M1A1 was first produced in 1984, with another 4,550 destined to be made, it was the most widley produced variant of the tank. The M1A1 was a major improvment over the original M1. Some of it's improvments, among others, include the addition of a newer and more powerful 120mm Smoothbore gun, new and improved armor, the incorporation of a Nuclear, Biological and Chemical(NBC) filtration device and an inproved suspension. A later version known as the M1A1HA(Heavy Armor) would incorporate a Depleted Uranium backplate to thier frontal Chobham armor. Then after that another version of the M1A1 came of the production lines with an even greater degree of armor, hence it was name M1A1HA+. Another version of the M1A1 was produced specially for the Marine Corps with more tie-down Points and came with a deep-water fording kit(DWFK).

The M1A2 was first produced in 1992. It incorporated advanced electronic packages that leap frogged the M1 into the digital age. It incorporated a microprossessing unit and a data bus and also had a modem and gave the commander and gunner a flat-panel dislpay. The tank also included a new Commanders Independant Thermal Viewer(CITV). This allows for the commander to see in Day/Night and foggy conditions with the use of Infrared and Night vision. Other improments include the upgrading of the commanders station with the M2 machine gun now able to be remotley operated from within the tank and includes a night sight. The vehicle also has room for 42 rounds as compared to 40 rounds on the M1A1. The next version of the vehicle was the M1A2 Sbrams SEP(System Enhancment Program). It includes improved microprossessors and added memory. It also has a mass memory unit that containts the tanks command-and-control system. It also had improved armor not only along the front of the vehicle but also the side. With inmproved sights on the M1A2 SEP the tank was now able to hit targets at 2.5 miles away with the first round. More subtle but equally important improvment is the addition of an air conditioning unit at the center of the vehicles bustle rack.

The M1 is continually upgraded so it can continue to operate throughout the 21st century. New systems will be added as the Future Combate Systems continues to progress throughout it's development and induction phases.

Armor
The M1 Abrams is protected by British designed Chobham(Burlington) armor.

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