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| The AbramsX is Equipped for Fast Warfare |
The pace of battle and the number of locations where action takes place are both likely to increase dramatically on a future battlefield. For this job, you need heavily fortified vehicles with better speed, agility, and fuel efficiency. Adjusting the module weights would be very useful for a fighting force that must cross bridges, keep up with tactical vehicles, and reduce fuel consumption.All of these things are why General Dynamics Land Systems is making the new AbamsX demonstrator.
"We think we can keep it at sixty tons with a certain level of armor or go higher if the Army wants." When you take the crew out of the turret and put them in the hull, you have this heavily armored turret without any people in it. That may be a place to save weight. "What we are telling the Army is you let us know what level of protection you desire in an unmanned turret, and we will let you know what that weighs," Tim Reese, U.S. business development, General Dynamics Land Systems.
With the creation of new lightweight composites, it might be possible to achieve high levels of security. The answer to this question will be crucial to the development of AbramsX. It is understandable that high-ranking officials don't discuss the specifics of the research and development being done on new lightweight armor composites or the timeline for their completion. The AbramsX can also have its armor altered to accommodate new and innovative materials. The Army Research Laboratory has been focusing on this for quite some time. Reese says that the AbramsX's unmanned turret and small crew of only three people help the vehicle be as useful and safe as possible in battle.
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| The AbramsX image during the AUSA 2022 |
The 120mm gun also has an autoloader, which is another innovation. "We have an unmanned turret, so the crew is down in the hull, and they share a cockpit-style arrangement of control screens," which "allows them to do that manned-unmanned teaming with a ground vehicle or an aerial vehicle with that architecture that underlies all the electronics inside the tank." Reese said that the hybrid electric power pack gives the vehicle "a pretty good long period of silent watch capability when the engine is not running" and "a little bit of silent mobility."
Reese said that sensing and artificial intelligence (AI) are also important to the success of the AbramsX because of how it is built, with two separate thermal viewers on top of the tank. With the help of a 360-degree camera, the commander and gunner of the Katalyst can get information about where targets are coming from. This data can then be analyzed and sent by the vehicle's electronic architecture, which is boosted by artificial intelligence.
Reese elaborated, "There are two independent day-and-night viewers on top of the turret instead of one, so now both the commander and the gunner have their own 360-degree camera that they can scan the battlefield from, and the turret does not have to move until they want to engage the enemy, and then they can engage the turret controls, so they are using a lot less of the battery power. "
