Since the mid-nineties, there have been no light tanks in the US Army. However, new challenges and threats forced the command to introduce such equipment into the plans for the development of troops. The development of a promising light tank for reinforcing infantry and airborne units is being carried out as part of the Mobile Protected Firepower program. Not so long ago, she moved to the stage of building experimental batches of equipment, and next year the finished vehicles will go to the troops for testing.
Reform and rearmament
Currently, the US Army has several dozen new-look brigades, the so-called. Infantry brigade combat team. Such a compound has various weapons and equipment, its main transport is cars and armored cars. Such a material part provides sufficient combat capability of the brigade and simplifies its transfer, but leads to some problems.
Several years ago, the command considered that the IBCT brigades needed their own tank capable of providing fire support to infantry units. The use of the regular army M1 Abrams was not possible due to their large mass and lack of mobility, which led to the start of the MPF program. Its goal was to create a medium-weight armored vehicle with cannon and machine-gun armament, combining good combat qualities with high mobility.
The MPF competition received applications from several American and foreign armored vehicle manufacturers. Both completely new designs and revised samples of already known types were proposed. In December last year, the Pentagon selected the two best projects. Tanks from General Dynamics and BAE Systems were considered the best.
Also in December there were two contracts for the continuation of work with a total cost of approx. $ 710 million. In accordance with them, two finalists of the MPF competition must build 12 pre-production tanks of new types. Two companies are currently working on this order. The work should be completed no later than the beginning of 2020, after which comparative tests will start.
Plans for the future
At the end of June, the press service of the US Army revealed the further fate of the MPF program. The events planned for the near future are directly related to the current construction of two dozen experimental armored vehicles.
In March next year, the new equipment will go to one of the formations of the 82nd Airborne Division of the US Army. The paratroopers will carry out a comprehensive check of the new equipment. In addition, they will have to compare two samples from different developers and issue recommendations. Military comparative tests and analysis of their results will take a little over two years.
In fiscal 2022, the Pentagon plans to make the final choice and determine the winner of the competition. The latter will have to complete the fine-tuning of its light tank and prepare for mass production. According to current plans, the delivery of production MPFs to the troops will begin in 2025 FY.
The army announces its intention to buy more than 500 light tanks of the new model. This technique will serve in tank fire support companies, 14 units each. Each IBCT brigade will have one such company. It is expected that units equipped with promising light tanks will provide infantry brigades with the required ratio of mobility and firepower. However, the complete rearmament of the brigades will take place no earlier than the beginning of the thirties.
Special Requirements
The MPF tank is intended for operation in "light" brigades, which is why special requirements are imposed on it. This vehicle must provide fire support for the infantry, destroying firing points, light and medium armored vehicles of the enemy, or various structures. At the same time, it should not complicate the transfer of the brigade.
According to the terms of reference, the MPF combat weight should not exceed 40 tons, which will allow the Boeing C-17 military transport aircraft to carry two such vehicles. The right combination of a powerful engine and tracked chassis should provide better mobility than the M1 MBT. Armament should include a 105-mm cannon and a normal caliber machine gun. The armor must provide protection against small arms and small-caliber artillery.
The command considered that a company armed with such light tanks would be able to effectively support motorized infantry in armored cars or cars. In fact, the MPF should be a variant of the "traditional" tank, redesigned for the specific requirements of the IBCT.
Challengers to win
General Dynamics has advanced to the final stage of the program with its Griffin II project. This sample is based on the ASCOD 2 tracked chassis already used in the British Ajax project. On such a chassis, a converted and lightweight MBT M1A2 SEP v.2 tower is mounted. The resulting sample has a combat weight of no more than 30 tons and should show high mobility characteristics.
The redesigned tank turret is equipped with a 120-mm XM360 smoothbore cannon and a coaxial machine gun. In terms of fire control systems, the Griffin II is partially unified with the existing armored vehicles of the US Army. It is expected that due to such weapons and the MSA, the light tank in terms of firepower will not be inferior to the main "Abrams".
The light tank from BAE Systems is a significantly redesigned and modernized version of the M8 Armored Gun Systems, created at the turn of the eighties and nineties. The architecture of the tank has remained the same, but the armament, protection and instrumentation have undergone the most serious changes. The result of this was a modern light tank, only superficially similar to the base vehicle.
BAE Systems offers a tank with modular shielding weighing up to 25 tons. The turret mounts a 105 mm M35 gun with an automatic loader, which provides a rate of fire up to 12 rounds per minute. The power plant is made in the form of a single unit, rolled out of the housing for service. As in the competing project, the use of the most modern electronics is provided.
To date, the companies participating in the project have managed to build prototypes of their equipment and conduct some tests. Now they are busy building the first batches of equipment for comparative tests on the basis of the 82nd Airborne Division. 24 light tanks will go to the military unit next spring.
Half a thousand tanks
According to the latest reports, it will take about two years to test the two types of armored vehicles, and after that the most successful one will be chosen. Which of the two current designs will receive approval is unknown. The results of the competition will be announced in 2022.
The General Dynamics Griffin III light tank project may be interesting for its more powerful armament and unification with existing models. The use of the existing chassis, the modernized serial turret and borrowed electronics give the car well-known advantages.
Its competitor from BAE Systems has less powerful armament, but is equipped with a high-performance automatic loader. In addition, this light tank is based on the M8 AGS project, well known to the American military. In the mid-nineties, the M8 tank was even officially put into service, but then the program was closed for financial reasons.
In their current form, both promising tanks have pros and cons. Each of them is superior to its competitor in some characteristics, but inferior to him in others. For this reason, the comparison of equipment will be carried out within the framework of experimental military operation in one of the combat units. Thanks to this, the Pentagon will be able to compare not only the tabular data of the two samples, but also the real features of their operation.
With the successful completion of the current MPF program, the "light" brigades of the army will be able to receive modern equipment that fully meets the new requirements of the command. Nevertheless, the real results of current work will appear only in the distant future - in the second half of the twenties.
