Responding to the rising challenges posed to floor forces by low price swarms of unmanned aerial autos, the Army Publishing Directorate of the U.S. Army has revised the Tank Platoon Ways Handbook to supply new directions for the crews of M1A2 Abrams most important battle tanks specifying how they will greatest interact such targets. The emphasis positioned on getting ready tank crews for anti-drone engagements is unprecedented, and displays the teachings that main militaries the world over have realized from observing engagements within the Ukrainian theatre. Whereas decrease calibre weapons with fast fireplace charges are historically favoured for anti-drone duties, the Tank Platoon Ways Handbook unusually advises Abrams crews to make use of the manually loaded 120mm most important gun, which has a modest charge of fireside of 8.5 rounds per minute, to deploy M1028 canister rounds. It’s anticipated that the rounds’ shrapnel dispersal will enable it to destroy a number of small drones, and when supplemented with machine gun fireplace can create a layered defensive bubble. The M1028 was beforehand relied on as an anti-infantry spherical.
Reliance on the Abrams’ 120mm cannon to interact drones displays the tank’s critical limitations for this sort of warfare, with the dearth of radar guided munitions or automated interception presenting a stark distinction with extra specialised anti-drone programs. Abrams crews’reliance on visible detection and guide concentrating on, and the gun’s restricted traverse and elevation vary, are main limiting elements. In contrast, tanks with trendy lively safety programs akin to Israel’s Trophy, Russia’s Area-M, or new designs from China and the 2 Koreas, are extremely able to detecting and neutralisingincoming threats autonomously. The Western world and Russia have remained far behind in integrating such programs onto their tanks, with america and Germany anticipated to acquire the Trophy-M from Israel for his or her autos. As by far the world’s largest tank, the Abrams’ measurement has left it extra weak to being focused, but in addition gives extra space to combine anti-drone programs in future, together with probably directed vitality weapons.
Vital considerations have not too long ago been raised concerning the Abrams tank’s survivability in opposition to drones, loitering munitions, and to a lesser extent to precision guided artillery, due tot he car’s efficiency within the palms of the Ukrainian Army. Because the tanks started to be deployed for fight in February 2024, they’ve been filmed being neutralised have been hit by guided artillery or by single use ‘kamikaze’ drones a number of instances, in order that by early June 2025 the Ukrainian Army wasassessed to have misplaced 87 % of the autos with 27 of the 31 equipped being destroyed or captured. In opposition to high assault threats from drone strikes, Ukrainian and U.S. Army variants of the Abrams are thought-about equally weak, with the heavier depleted uranium on U.S. Army variants not protecting the autos in opposition to assaults from this course.With the Pentagon dealing with floor budgetary pressure, and land forces more and more being much less prioritised, the flexibility to finance pricey upgrades for anti-drone warfare stays in critical query.
