Though the base platform is now ageing, upgrades have made the tanks of 2018 near-unrecognizable to the weapons of 1980-at least to those who know where to look. The Abrams was cutting edge technology when first introduced. Just under 3,000 are believed to be active at any one time. Spread across the Army and Marine Corps, there are just under 5,000 M1 Abrams tanks of various configurations in the U.S. forces needed firepower, the Abrams was there, even deployed in small numbers to the mountain passes and green valleys of Afghanistan. It was the Abrams that drove Saddam Hussein's Iraqi army from Kuwait, and some years later that tore across Iraq to seize Baghdad. M1 Abrams variants have has formed the backbone of American armor over the past three decades.
M1A2 SEP Abrams battle tank fires live rounds during a joint military exercise between South Korea and the U.S. The M1A1 tank was in service by 1985 and the M1A2 by 1986.Ī U.S. Since then, a series of upgrades have brought the platform up to speed with the modern battlefield. The most potent armored vehicle at the American military's disposal for almost 40 years has been the M1 Abrams tank, first introduced in 1980 and named for the Vietnam War-era General Creighton Abrams. Two of the world's biggest tank arsenals belong to the U.S.-with around 5,800-and Russia, which has over 20,000.īut it is the condition and quality of these tanks that matter more than sheer numbers. Nonetheless, the tank remains a vital part of any modern military, offering unparalleled ground-based firepower and remaining a symbol of the might of the world's great powers. But in an era of guerilla war and stand-off conflict, the mammoth, history-defining tank battles of World War Two-a repeat of which was expected if the Cold War ever went hot-are seemingly a thing of the past. Tanks once dominated the battlefield, and possessing a powerful and well-supplied armored force was to win a war.
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