US Army tanks to receive stealth coatings and top-attack armor for modern battlefield survival.

On June 28, 2025, the U.S. Army announced plans to boost its tracked combat vehicles’ survivability with new stealth coatings, laser warning systems, and top-attack armor kits. This initiative is detailed in the FY2026 Weapons and Tracked Combat Vehicles Procurement plan, part of the U.S. defense budget for Fiscal Year 2026 that outlines priorities for modernizing and protecting frontline forces. With drone surveillance and precision munitions on the rise, the Army aims to make its armor harder to detect and destroy. The upgrades reflect a layered protection strategy combining concealment, deception, and reinforced armor. This signals a major shift to keep heavy brigades combat-ready in future high-intensity conflicts, as reported by official budget documents.
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With its layered mix of early-warning sensors, thermal-signature reduction coatings, and reinforced armor, the U.S. Army’s new initiative sends a clear message: armored vehicles must evolve to survive the next era of drone swarms, precision-guided strikes, and sensor-driven warfare (Picture source: General Dynamics)

Beyond active sensors, the Army plans to apply the GM1912 Signature Management paint to more than 380 vehicles, directly tackling the challenge of thermal detection in an era of near-constant drone surveillance. By lowering a vehicle’s infrared and thermal profile, this specialized coating becomes a crucial element in the Army’s wider Concealment, Deception, and Obscuration strategy, a layered survivability concept designed to confuse enemy sensors and complicate targeting cycles.

To complete this multi-layered defense, the GM1914 Top Attack Protection Kits will add vital passive armor to counter threats from above. With $91.7 million allocated for this line alone, these kits are intended to reinforce vehicle compartments and hatches that remain particularly vulnerable to modern top-attack munitions and loitering drones. The Army plans to field enough of these passive armor upgrades to protect four full Armored Brigade Combat Teams, signaling how seriously it views this evolving threat.

Altogether, the FY2026 request for the three Vehicle Protection System components comes to over $107 million, a significant commitment, especially given that no funds were earmarked for this effort in FY2024 or FY2025. This fresh investment line shows the Army’s clear recognition that emerging threats demand new solutions to keep armored units survivable in future high-intensity combat. In line with Section 1815 of the FY2008 National Defense Authorization Act, these improvements are not only crucial for overseas operations but also for homeland defense missions and military support to civil authorities when needed.

While the budget does not name specific contractors, these technologies are expected to be integrated across a wide range of U.S. tracked combat platforms in the years ahead. For now, General Dynamics Land Systems remains the prime industrial integrator for much of the Army’s tracked fleet modernization, positioning the company to play a central role as the Vehicle Protection Systems move from budget lines to battlefield reality.

With its layered mix of early-warning sensors, thermal-signature reduction coatings, and reinforced armor, the U.S. Army’s new initiative sends a clear message: armored vehicles must evolve to survive the next era of drone swarms, precision-guided strikes, and sensor-driven warfare. As outlined in the FY2026 Weapons and Tracked Combat Vehicles Procurement plan, these upgrades could prove decisive in keeping America’s heavy brigades viable, agile, and lethal wherever they are called to operate.