The Army’s already-accelerated plan to field its next-generation M1E3 Abrams tank will hit a major milestone before the end of next year with its first soldier touchpoint, a General Dynamics executive revealed Wednesday.
Speaking at a panel alongside Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Randy George at the Association of the United States Army’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C., Danny Deep, executive vice president for Global Operations at GD, said a “pre-prototype” of the M1E3 would be sent to the fighting forces so they could kick the tires.
“We’re going to have it fielded in the next 12 months for soldiers to touch it, see what they like, see what they don’t like,” Deep said. “Then in short order after that, we’re going to start delivering this capability in the next two to three years, as opposed to the next 10.”
Deep told Military Times following the panel that the test vehicle would be sent to a small unit, though the identity and location of that unit had not yet been determined. The M1E3, planned to replace the venerable M1 Abrams first fielded in the 1990s, has been a focus of fast fielding efforts, with officials saying earlier this year that they wanted to get the new tank out to the fighting forces within 30 months.
Modularity, open architecture and digital engineering have all contributed to speed in developing the M1E3 design, Deep said. As Defense News previously reported, officials want to make the new tank lighter and evaluate an improved drivetrain and power generation while keeping popular characteristics of the M1, including the 120mm smoothbore main gun.
Using components already available in the commercial space has also been a key driver of speed, Deep said.
“The 90% solution is a much better answer than an ideal 100% solution that is so long from now that it isn’t going to be relevant when you get it anyway,” he said. “So I think this whole mindset has changed. Everybody believes speed wins, not just on the battlefield, but in terms of how you get capability out to the soldier.”
Col. Ryan Howell, acting deputy program executive officer for Ground Combat Systems, cited diesel Caterpillar engines as one place the Army could adopt existing and capable parts.
“I can go from an engine that costs upwards of $1 million per [unit] right now, today, with limited availability, a few parts worldwide, to something that is now commercially available – that a chief warrant officer in the division can grab a bunch of broken ones, go to the nearest Cat dealership in your country and go get it fixed for less than ten grand,” Howell said. “I don’t need bespoke manufacturing.”