Army set sights on sophisticated vetronics and technology for future main battle tanks
The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:
15 Nov. 2018 -- Just what, exactly, should future light main battle tanks look like? The question is fast taking-on increased urgency. “I believe that a complete replacement of the Abrams would not make sense, unless we had a breakthrough ... with much lighter armor which allows us to re-architect the vehicle,” Col. Jim Schirmer, program manager for the Next Generation Combat Vehicle, said last month at the Association of the United States Army Annual Symposium in Washington.
Newer lightweight armor composites, active protection systems, and next-generation vetronicss may not evolve fast enough to address the most advanced emerging threats. Still, there are limitations to just how much a 1980s-era Abrams tank can be upgraded.
The Next Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV) program, which has been moved forward by nearly a decade, could likely evolve into a family of vehicles and will definitely have unmanned technology. Any new tank will be engineered with additional space for automotive systems, people and ammunition.
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John Keller, chief editor
Military & Aerospace Electronics
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