U.S. Army research and development for main battle tank M1 Abrams under ECP program 0411121
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Military Defense Industry Technology - M1 Abrams ECP program | |||
Sunday, November 4, 2012, 07:26 AM | |||
U.S. Army research and development for main battle tank M1 Abrams under ECP program. | |||
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 | |||
Abrams Engineering Change Proposal program reduces space, weight, and power margins, increases survivability and postures tank to accept future Network components. (Credit photos: U.S. Army) | |||
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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. 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 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. | |||