U.S. Army Abrams Tank and Stryker Combat Vehicle Get PERCH 2.0 for Under-Armor Attack Drone Launches.

General Dynamics Land Systems is upgrading the U.S. Army M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 tank and Stryker 8x8 armored vehicle so their crews can launch Switchblade 300 loitering munitions without opening their hatches, keeping soldiers under armor while extending the vehicles’ reconnaissance and strike reach beyond direct line of sight. The PERCH 2.0 system is designed to let armored crews detect, investigate, and engage threats over terrain and obstacles before those targets enter the vehicle’s conventional direct-fire envelope.

General Dynamics Land Systems will disclose the upgraded Precision Effects & Reconnaissance, Canister-Housed system ahead of its debut at AUSA 2026. PERCH 2.0 also introduces a simplified reload process informed by lessons from a 2025 MARS demonstration at Fort Hood, improving the practicality of repeated loitering-munition employment in contested conditions.

Related Topic: U.S. Abrams SEPv3 Tank Trials PERCH Loitering Munition Launcher for Beyond Line of Sight Strikes

General Dynamics Land Systems’ PERCH 2.0 lets M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 and Stryker crews launch Switchblade 300 loitering munitions from under armor, extending reconnaissance and precision-strike reach beyond direct line of sight.  (Picture source: GDLS)

Developed by General Dynamics Land Systems with AeroVironment, PERCH integrates tube-launched loitering munitions directly onto armored combat vehicles. The updated configuration is a common modular kit compatible with both M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 main battle tanks and Stryker 8x8 armored vehicles, giving maneuver formations an organic way to extend their sensor and engagement horizon beyond what onboard sights and direct-fire weapons can cover. Rather than treating the Switchblade as an additional weapon, the system gives a tank or armored vehicle an expendable airborne sensor that can look beyond ridgelines, buildings, tree lines, and enemy positions, then transition from reconnaissance to precision attack when needed.

For Abrams crews, this adds a layer between observation and direct engagement. The tank’s 120 mm main gun, armor, and fire-control system remain its primary combat tools, but a loitering munition can examine a suspected anti-tank position or concealed route before the Abrams itself has to move into a position where it can see or be seen by the threat. The hatch-closed launch capability directly supports that concept by letting crews employ the munition while retaining the vehicle's protection, rather than exposing personnel through open hatches during the launch sequence.

The simplified reload procedure addresses a second practical requirement. A vehicle-mounted loitering-munition system offers limited combat value if replenishment is slow or cumbersome after its first rounds are fired, so the changes from the 2025 Fort Hood demonstration suggest an effort to make PERCH more usable during sustained maneuver rather than only during controlled demonstrations. For Stryker formations, the same concept could provide a reconnaissance-strike capability that moves directly with the unit, allowing crews to investigate suspected enemy locations or defensive positions from beyond visual range and attack selected targets without first closing to direct-fire distance.

General Dynamics identifies AeroVironment’s Switchblade 300 for the publicly disclosed PERCH 2.0 configuration. The munition combines electro-optical and infrared sensing with tube-launched precision-attack capability, allowing it to provide imagery during flight before being committed against a target. AeroVironment advertises the latest Switchblade 300 Block 20 with a range of up to 30 km using an extended-range antenna and endurance exceeding 20 minutes, but General Dynamics has not stated that these Block 20 performance figures apply to the PERCH 2.0 vehicle installation. Those numbers should therefore not be treated as confirmed performance for the complete Abrams or Stryker-mounted configuration.

The concept reflects a broader shift in armored warfare toward extending the sensor and engagement reach of ground vehicles with organic unmanned systems. Experience from the war in Ukraine has reinforced the value of detecting and striking forces concealed behind terrain, obstacles, or prepared positions before exposing armored vehicles to direct observation and anti-tank weapons. In that environment, the tactical advantage is not simply that an Abrams can carry a loitering munition, but that the crew can push reconnaissance and precision effects forward of the tank, potentially identifying ambush positions, reverse-slope defenses, or concealed vehicles while the Abrams remains behind cover or outside the immediate engagement area.

This could improve tactical decision-making before an armored element enters a vulnerable position. Information from a loitering munition may allow a crew to alter its route, coordinate supporting fires, maintain standoff, or attack a detected threat without making the tank itself the first sensor exposed to the enemy.

PERCH 2.0 remains an industry-developed modular capability under demonstration, not an announced U.S. Army fleet program. General Dynamics Land Systems has not disclosed an Army production order, procurement quantity, or fleet-wide installation schedule for M1A2 SEPv3 tanks or Strykers.

The significance of PERCH 2.0 therefore lies less in adding another launcher to an armored vehicle than in extending what its crew can see and engage while remaining protected. By combining hatch-closed Switchblade 300 employment with easier reloading, General Dynamics is developing a way for Abrams tanks and Stryker 8x8 armored vehicle crews to project reconnaissance and precision attack beyond their direct line of sight without first exposing either the soldiers or the vehicle to the same degree of battlefield risk.

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Written by Alain Servaes – Chief Editor, Army Recognition Group
Alain Servaes is a former infantry non-commissioned officer and the founder of Army Recognition. With over 20 years in defense journalism, he provides expert analysis on military equipment, NATO operations, and the global defense industry.