Does the Army need the Abrams X? There is no clear answer. The Army hasn’t decided what to do with the Abrams X. It is currently working on the M1A3 Abrams after it scuttled the System Enhancement Package (SEP) version 4 for the M1A2 Abrams.
“We were able to find some efficiencies [in the supplemental] that allowed us to buy small quantities of Iron Fist,” Maj. Gen. Glenn Dean, the service’s Program Executive Officer for Ground Combat Systems told Breaking Defense.
In September, the Army decided to scuttle a long-awaited upgrade to its M1A2 Abrams tank and focus its efforts on a completely new version. In addition to new technology and features, the M1A3 (currently known as the M1E3) will include all the best features from the scuttled System Enhancement Package version 4 (SEPv4).
Many countries are developing or looking to develop a next-generation main battle tank for the conflicts of the future. The United States military is working on the M1A3 Abrams, ditching an updated version of the M1A2 for a new, more advanced tank.