The M1 Abrams ("Abrams" - named after General Creighton Abrams, former Chief of Staff of the US Army and Commander of the US Armed Forces in Vietnam) is a third-generation American main battle tank.
The tank was developed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and has been in service since 1980, being the main main battle tank of the US Army. In addition to the United States, the tank is in service with the armies of Australia, Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Morocco, Taiwan and Poland. The US plans to extend the life of the tank until 2050.
The Abrams is built according to the classic tank scheme with a crew of four (commander, gunner, loader, driver) and with a high-ballistics cannon as the main armament.
The M1 Abrams tank is equipped with a 1500 horsepower Honeywell AGT 1500 gas turbine engine with a six-speed (four forward, two reverse) Allison X-1100-3B automatic transmission.
The tank can reach a maximum speed of 72 km/h on the road and 48 km/h on rough terrain. With the ESC off, the speed can reach up to 97 km/h on the highway, but this can be dangerous for the crew.
Interestingly, the engine can run on diesel fuel, kerosene, motor gasoline of any brand, jet fuel JP-4 or JP-8. For example, the US Army uses JP-8 aviation fuel to simplify logistics. For the same purpose, Australian armored forces use diesel fuel. Jet fuel provides better acceleration than diesel, but it also consumes twice as much.
Fuel tanks with a total volume of 1900 liters on JP-8 aviation fuel provide an operational range of only 410 km (for comparison, the diesel tank Leopard 2 tanks of 1160 liters provide an operational range of 500 km).
Although the tank is not designed to carry armored troops, some innovations allow infantry to ride the tank in combat conditions, positioned behind the rear of the tower. At the same time, soldiers can fix themselves and their equipment with rope and straps.
The tank was developed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and has been in service since 1980, being the main main battle tank of the US Army. In addition to the United States, the tank is in service with the armies of Australia, Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Morocco, Taiwan and Poland. The US plans to extend the life of the tank until 2050.
The Abrams is built according to the classic tank scheme with a crew of four (commander, gunner, loader, driver) and with a high-ballistics cannon as the main armament.
The M1 Abrams tank is equipped with a 1500 horsepower Honeywell AGT 1500 gas turbine engine with a six-speed (four forward, two reverse) Allison X-1100-3B automatic transmission.
The tank can reach a maximum speed of 72 km/h on the road and 48 km/h on rough terrain. With the ESC off, the speed can reach up to 97 km/h on the highway, but this can be dangerous for the crew.
Interestingly, the engine can run on diesel fuel, kerosene, motor gasoline of any brand, jet fuel JP-4 or JP-8. For example, the US Army uses JP-8 aviation fuel to simplify logistics. For the same purpose, Australian armored forces use diesel fuel. Jet fuel provides better acceleration than diesel, but it also consumes twice as much.
Fuel tanks with a total volume of 1900 liters on JP-8 aviation fuel provide an operational range of only 410 km (for comparison, the diesel tank Leopard 2 tanks of 1160 liters provide an operational range of 500 km).
Although the tank is not designed to carry armored troops, some innovations allow infantry to ride the tank in combat conditions, positioned behind the rear of the tower. At the same time, soldiers can fix themselves and their equipment with rope and straps.