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A new, mysterious version of the US M1 Abrams main battle tank was unveiled during the opening ceremony of the Justice Eagle 19 military drills at Smardan Training Area, Romania on May 29th, Defense Blog reported.
The new M1 Abrams main battle tank appears to have a new armor package on its turret. According to unnamed military experts, the new armor is a Trophy Active Protection System, which protects the tank from anti-tank guided missiles and infantry anti-tank rockets.
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Furthermore, according to the said experts, the mysterious version of the M1 Abrams tank is called the M1A2 System Enhancement Package Version 3 tank, or M1A2 SEPv3.
Unnamed army officials said that the new M1 Abrams main battle tank was the most technologically advanced digital tank in the world with superior firepower, protection and mobility.
“Improvements focus on power, management, counter-IED systems and improved, embedded training, and an ammunition data link. It is the most reliable Abrams tank ever produced, will decrease the Army’s logistic burden, and leads the Army in Enterprise-level connectivity to maintenance and supply systems,” Defense blog noted.
The SEPv3 M1A2 main battle tank is 9.7m-long, 3.7m-wide and 2.4m-high, and is manned by a crew of four, including a driver, a commander, a loader and a gunner.
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In a video dated October 11th, 2017, Maj. Gen. David Bassett, program executive officer for Ground Combat Systems said: “These vehicles are not just about assuring our allies, or deterring or coercing potential adversaries. They are about compelling our enemies and winning the multi-domain battle.” He spoke of plans to equip a tank brigade with the Trophy active protection system by Leonardo DRS and RAFAEL.
Presenting at the Army’s annual convention and exhibition in 2017, Col. Glenn Dean, the Project Manager of the Stryker Brigade Combat Team at Combat Ground Systems, was quoted several years ago saying the Trophy APS “exceeded expectations.”
“Unlike prior APS tests…we were shooting actual threats at actual vehicles. I’m happy to say I kept trying to kill an Abrams tank about 48 times and failed every time,” Dean said.
Additional information on the Trophy APS was released in March 2018, it is the world’s first and only fully operational “Active Protection and Hostile Fire Detection System for Armored Vehicles,” said Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. This cutting-edge technology will provide M1 Abrams tanks with 360-degree security from all threats, as advanced algorithms are continually detecting, locating, and neutralizing anti-tank threats on the battlefield.
According Rafael Advanced Defense Systems the Trophy system has been tested, has qualified, and is already in production for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The system debuted in 2009 and had proven to work exceptionally well in the Gaza Strip and other hot spots around Israel.
The APS neutralizes a wide variety of anti-armor threats, from RPGs to modern ATGMs. It has a very high kill probability of the projectile and reduces any risk of residual penetration. It engages only threats that pose a danger, it has an “extremely low false alarm rate.” Minimizes any collateral damage by kinetic, non-explosive intercept. It calculates and reports the shooter’s location to the crew. It can neutralize threats fired from very short distances and from more than one direction simultaneously. Finally, the protection zones can be user defined allowing for more safety and flexibility.
The Army awarded Rafael Advanced Defense Systems a contract worth $193 million in June 2018, to shield its M1 Abrams main battle tanks with APS.
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But can Trophy System detect Molotov cocktail at 1-2 metres ??
vodka ?
Pure ETOH works better in anti-tank function.
Oh yeah. But you must use EtOH not on tank but on tank’s crew right before the mission. https://media0.giphy.com/media/AgaXMCnoSbNHa/giphy-downsized-medium.gif
LMAO :)
LOL the driver got thrashed there ouchhhh
The RKG3EM will welcome the steel coffins !
Now only actual combat can really test this system. If its anything like the ATGW system the Dutch army bought from Israel it probably won’t quite live up to its advertisements
Its a try.
We see the same for anti drones, where simple and advanced systems are made. The good ones will be in production as well as the homemades.
Russia has similar Shtora system, but Russian army does not use it on battle tanks, because of a danger to hit the infantry.
The Shtora is a electro-optical active protection system and it doesn’t pose a threat to infantry, could you possibly mean the Arena active protection system?
I was wrong. Of course it’s Arena. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arena_(countermeasure)
It’s easy to mix them all up there are quite a few of them ☺️
That doesn’t seem like its much of a useful system then. Either its good and you use, or its not good because you can’t use it.
But I thought Shtora was a jamming system. Why would that pose a danger to accompanying infantry? Unless you mean the explosive reactive armor. Cause that I can see be something of a danger to nearby infantry.
Yep it’s Arena-M. I read somewhere an article in Russian where it was explained by a Russian tank officer, why the Arena complex is useless in urban environments and somewhere else. Do not remember exactly where. But the reason was that projectiles can hit infantry so they have to keep the distance, which is not always possible in the real combat environment.
Of course the Russians fit it to tanks, as well as Boomerang, Kurganets and all other high value armoured vehicles. A tank is far more important than a soldier ffs, in battle.
The Israelis just brought in the latest batch of Russian emigres, who worked in the Russian defence industry.
Some guys says that tank without infantry is kinda motorized coffin.
Not if the infantry are in a T-15 alongside the T-14.
The German drive to the French coast worked out well enough without waiting for infantry.
That happen in the times before RPG. As far as I remember, the average life of a tank in the modern warfare is about 15 min. The crew without infantry support has no chances to survive.
Russia introduced ERA tiles to deal with RPGs, and has been using jamming and kinetic means of defeating incoming rounds for quite a long time.
The Israelis have been putting their troops into Merkava personnel carriers for years, decades. The Merkava tank has been using APS systems as well. No modern military are going to put troops walking behind tanks, those days were back in the 60s. What troops did you see walking in Iraq?
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/bb5df51f78b95830f99efe7b291e5ddc492a7eac7bd8cbc728245f6f5c09e8fc.jpg
US tanks didn’t have APS or tiles on those tanks in an urban enviroment.
And those guys are at a checkpoint Harry, can’t you tell by the wire and barricades?
Yep, it’s urban environment. And like I said 2 days before to Barba_papa:
I read somewhere an article in Russian where it was explained by a Russian tank officer, why the Arena complex is useless in urban environments and somewhere else. Do not remember exactly where. But the reason was that projectiles can hit infantry so they have to keep the distance, which is not always possible in the real combat environment.
Harry, do you agree that Russian tanks are using APS, as are the Israelis? Drodz, Arena or Afghanit. And now of course, the US are following.
It is of course a danger to nearby troops, but no more than an ERA tile, which disperses a steel plate into an incoming round, which then explodes itself, making the surrounding area a lethal place to be. IFV, Infantry Fighting Vehicles, carry the troops forward alongside the heavy armour, dismount the troops in the area of operations, and the troops proceed away from the blast areas of their own vehicles. I tried uploading the image, bit it won’t work, so google Merkava images, and some of the shots show dismounted infantry gathering to go forward while a Merkava covers their movement away from his own troops.
That is why troops train.
Look, I am not military pro or tank specialist. Just saying what I have read.
Links please.
Google, or Wiki T14, T15, Bumerang, Kurganets etc, and read the published data, FFS.
Easier than asking someone who gives a flying duck about your demands.
What exactly did I demand? I just asked.
Can’t you google yourself!
I’m not your mother, do you need someone to tell you how to check data for yourself!
Go fuck yourself, it was a simple question. Trigger much?
Like I fucked your mother!
Dirty tramp.
Did you google, or are you just looking to argue?
What about exploding ERA tiles Harry, every tank in the world fits them?
The Russians used Drodz back in the 70s, then Arena , and today they are using Afghanit. The Russians built the Terminator tank support vehicle after their experiences in Chechnya where they suffered great losses to RPGs in the rubble of Grozny.
The troops are carried into battle in armoured vehicles, before exiting the vehicle to carry out a specific task. Obviously, troops cannot stay close to vehicles with ERA tiles or APS systems, but that’s what soldiers actually do train for between wars.
Russian tanks like T-90A, T-72B3, etc use Arena.
Ahh good old spike. Bring back the RPG7, at least that works
The Trophy APS has already been combat tested.
Trump is a most despicable US leader.
Take a closer look at his son-in-law.
Strange I have not heard aboit it before. I try to follow, what can be followed.
It shows infantery becomes stronger and stronger. We see the same for drones and antidrone systems. The infantery also are possible to hide well, if they are educated for it.
I am happy too, because I always has kind of lover of the Abrams with their silent Gas engines as well as they can hit targets on the move.
If its a succes, they can add it to other tanks and vehicles.
the military industrial complex is seriously profitable and as long as they can turn out some improvement in the stuff they make, the price goes up.
so for example raytheon’s shares went from 17.77 bucks per share in january 2000 and are in may 2019 at 179.65 bucks per share which is about a 1000 % increase. dividends went from 0.6 bucks per share 2000 to 3.62 per share in 2018/2019 which is about some 600 % up. northrop-grumman’s share price went from 23.47 bucks in february 2000 to 303.25 bucks per share in may 2109 or some 1250 up and dividends from 08 bucks/share to 4.8 bucks/ share which is a gain of 600%. war is fun and profitable for the shareholders in the weapon makers in the quickly disintegrated states of friggin america and one very serious reason why everything taking place in the world is perceived as a threat against the seriously disintegrating states of A and thus calls for more regime change, more assassinations and more overt and/or covert wars.
Dow Jones industrial average index was at 11250 in january 2000 and at 24815 on may 31, 2019.
Hypersonic ATGMs will do some Damage… Gringo-Technology sucks….& their Operation Paperclip Scientists are all six feet under by now…
I bet that the US have not asked the Houthi’s,who are world leaders in Abrams Tank destruction, to test their new toy :)
Houthis will become Famous & Infamous for being the Flip-Flop-Abrams-Assassins…
Wonder if they have an anti-bic-lighter device.
I think US Military has found a way to put out a Bic Lighter , Vitex.
https://image.shutterstock.com/image-photo/congleton-cheshire-september-30th-2017-600w-724959124.jpg
Every Abrams will be ‘partnered’ with one of these.
They can add the water trucks to the fuel train needed for driving an American great idea. lol
The US military industrial complex would of course only supply pure Spring Water from certified sources. Its not cheap you know, but the US soldiers deserve the ‘greatest’ water money can buy.
And a tanker full of avgas.
Agree totally HH, Cover from view is Not cover from a HH (Hypersonic Hydra)
Exactly what I already told but you guys, but everybody refused to believe it and alternative media remained silent about it. Not only are our battle tanks stealth invisible but also our air-fighters. You cant see them. We arrive unseen everywhere we like, and we leave unseen also when WE like…………………LOL. Anyone who are or get in the way is hit with a sudden laser flash…deleted, and everybody will wonder what happened and how America managed to do that. Thats how we are and how we function.
Don’t the Russians have something similar the Shtora? It’s a passive counter-measure that confuses ATGMs but it is an automatic counter-measure.
The thing about identifying the enemies position is definitely overblown, that might work for RPGs but ATGMs are guided and do not come in a straight line. In fact they will dive down directly above the tank.
Shtora – passive system. Arena – active system which was introduced years before Israel came up with their version. US is using Israeli’s version.
The latest Russian APS is Afghanit, and it can target top attack munitions. The system is fitted to the T1415, Bumerang and Kurganets.
I don’t get it. The blurb above says it can shoot many targets simultaneously. How can it shoot many targets at once and also targets of opportunity it actually wants? Doesn-t it use the same gun for incoming targets and targets it chooses?
Gatling gun barrels are shown on both sides of its turret as well as on top. I don’t know why people are being so dismissive. The U.S. can build weapons of war. It may take 10X to do what Russia can do but we will eventually get there. The Russians have similar short term protection for the Panstir 1/2 and people went ooh-ah and for good reason.
Thank you.i am not dismissive. I am trying to learn and understand. So the honeycomb -looking box is a series of Gatling guns? And they can shoot in many directions at once? How ,when all the guns are pointing in one direction and all swing collectively in the same direction as part of the panel? And the tank can move and fire at targets with its main gun while moving whilst the gatlings are taking out targets at the same time?
The honeycomb boxes contain shotgun like shells which fire at the incoming warhead, directed by radar, creating a wall of flame metres from the vehicle which engulf the incoming warhead, triggering the warhead or destroying it at a safe distance from the vehicles armour.
There are plenty of videos showing these systems at work, just google Active Protection Systems and watch.
The fun starts at 1:40
https://youtu.be/yQ9JPTVDFeg
The Russians are Kings of War.
They make weapons that the West can’t imagine. They have been using active protection systems for years, while the West claimed these systems don’t work. The Russians introduced off bore sight helmets for their airforce decades before the West introduced the tech, and the Russian gear is still superior, with larger angles of fire. The Russians introduced ERA tiles for their tanks, decades ago, the West are again just catching up with ERA sets which need hours of work by vast crews to fit them, while its built into Russian systems.
Since 2014, my eyes have been opened to Russian military tech and application. You won’t find the CEO of a Russian defence firm on the top 10 richest people in Forbes.
Russian tech finally gets fitted to US tanks, after the latest Russian exodus of military designers to Israeli defence firms.
If this works as well as most next gen U.S. weapons, the enemies of Romania have little to fear.
It is Israeli tech, and the Israelis got it from Russian emigres who worked on those systems in Russia.
Wouldn’t it wipe out any infantry close by a bit like a claymore?
Same as an ERA tile would. Ever since their introduction of ERA and APS, troops have been put into IFV, and do not stand near anything which can pop.