Over
the past decade the only thing that has been able to slow the Army's premier
combat vehicle, hasn't been enemies on the battlefield, but rather the
technological advancements added to the platform. While every vehicle
is designed to have Space, Weight, and Power, or SWaP, margin for incremental
improvements, recent upgrades made to the Abrams M1A2 SEP V2 have left
little margin for future improvements.
By Bill Good, PEO Ground Combat Systems, Public Affairs
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"The
Abrams main battle tank was developed over three decades ago in response
to a major Soviet threat. We were fortunate that engineers had the foresight
to design in enough SWaP margin to enable us to host new capabilities
needed during our recent missions in Iraq and Afghanistan," said
Lt. Col. William Brennan, product manager for Abrams.
To help alleviate SWaP constraints, the Army has launched the Abrams Engineering
Change Proposal, or ECP, program designed to buy back as much SWaP as
possible by redesigning and modernizing many elements of the tank. This
ECP is a modification to the system that leaves the essential capability
unchanged. The Abrams ECP program will help ensure the Army can seamlessly
incorporate other programs of record into the Abrams well into the future,
without degrading operational performance.
"Right now the electrical power is in short supply on the tank. The
centerpiece of the ECP 1 upgrade will be to restore lost power margin
through the integration of a larger generator, improved slip ring, battery
management system and a new power generation and distribution system,"
said Brennan.
Other
major Abrams ECP upgrades will focus on communications, data transmission
and processing, and survivability. The communications upgrade will integrate
the Joint Tactical Radio System, or JTRS, and Handheld, Manpack, &
Small Form Fit, or HMS, into the Abrams, replacing the current single-channel
ground and airborne radio system, known as SINCGARS.
The ability to incorporate the Army's network is also a vital part of
the ECP1 effort. To address network requirements the Abrams will integrate
a gigabit Ethernet databus to allow greater data processing and transmission.
The modified slip ring on the turret will also provide the ability to
transmit larger amounts of data into the turret, in addition to providing
more power.
"The
ECP1 upgrade will posture the tank to accept the Army network components
in the near term, while building the necessary margin to accept future
capabilities in the decades to come," added Brennan.
While the Abrams remains the dominate vehicle on the battlefield, the
ECP program will make it more formidable by including a new armor solution
as well as an updated version of the counter-remote-control improvised
explosive device electronic warfare, or CREW, system.
Initial production of tanks with ECP1 upgrades is slated to begin in 2017.
The Abrams ECP program is managed by Product Manager Abrams, which falls
under leadership of the Project Manager, Heavy Brigade Combat Team within
the Program Executive Office for Ground Combat Systems. |
