New Abrams Tank Provides Defense Acquisition Blueprint
Speeding up the procurement process at the Department of Defense (DOD) has been an immense challenge, but a rare example of success is the M1E3 Abrams tank. The DOD announced on September 6, 2023, that it intends to replace the M1A2SEP with the M1E3, and initially projected that the tank would be fielded sometime in the next decade.
However, the contract awarded to General Dynamics in May 2024 rapidly expedited this process and subsequently set a new standard for how the Pentagon should procure equipment. Rather than the Army and General Dynamics agreeing on how to build every sensor and communications system for the tank for its entire service life, the Army chose an open system that will integrate a variety of systems and software as needed in the future. As a result, the tank will begin to be fielded next year, with full rollout occurring within three years, well ahead of the initial timeline.
General Dynamics Executive Vice President Danny Deep stated on October 15, 2025, “The world changed. We make some big decisions on the key subsystems, but even those subsystems were not locked in for the next 30 or 40 years, and we create a truly modular, next-generation, lighter, more lethal, more integrated platform that is going to change.”
A modular platform sets the Army up for maximum flexibility to incorporate new technology as it becomes available, or to reconfigure the M1E3 for particular missions or environments. This is a stark contrast with the approach the Army took with the M10 Booker, where an illogical, overly designed process resulted in a light tank too large and heavy to be usefully airdropped, or indeed to be driven across eight of the 11 bridges at Fort Campbell, one of its host bases. The Army canceled the M10 in June 2025, with all Bookers sent to storage or the scrap heap.
The savvy method of developing the M1E3 provides the best guarantee of a positive return on investment. The DOD would be wise to pursue modular platforms elsewhere.
