BAE Systems Corporation showed the final look of the "light tank" developed under the MPF program

BAE Systems Corporation showed the final appearance of a tracked combat vehicle with cannon armament (light tank), presented to the US Army's Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) tender.

The corporation offered a new version tank M8 Armored Gun System, developed by FMC at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s to replace the M551 Sheridan light tank. The M8 tank had a combat weight of 19 to 25 tons, depending on the version of the interchangeable protection kit, and was equipped with a 105 mm M35 cannon in a remote installation with an automatic loader.

According to the bmpd blog, the presented machine based on the M8 has a significantly redesigned turret with a modular reservation system and the installation of an Elbit Systems Iron Fist active protection complex. The 105-mm XM35 cannon with an automatic loader is retained, the ammunition load is 21 rounds A new fire control system and new tracks were applied, the power plant was modernized - an MTU diesel engine was used in combination with an Allison 3040MX automatic transmission. Air transportability is declared - one Boeing C-17A aircraft is capable of transporting two cars, and the Lockheed Martin C-130 aircraft - one car.

Recall that General Dynamics offers a completely new development of the Griffin II light tank. The Griffin II is a symbiosis of the modified turret of the M1A2SEPv2 Abrams tank and the ASCOD 2 chassis. The new 120mm XM360 cannon was chosen as the weapon. The combat weight of the Griffin II reaches 38 tons.

The Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) program provides for the creation of a tracked combat vehicle weighing no more than 32 tons, equipped with 105 or 120 mm cannon armament and an active protection system.

On December 17, 2018, the United States Army awarded two contracts with BAE Systems and General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) for more than $ 375 million and $ 335 million, respectively, for the production of prototypes. By the end of 2021, based on the test results, the winner of the tender will be selected. The order for the first pre-production batch of 26 vehicles is planned to be issued in the second half of 2022 with an option for the second pre-production batch of 28 vehicles. Full-scale serial production is planned to be launched in 2025.

Comments

[OgnennyiKotik]

M8 Thunderbolt / AGS 120 variant with 120mm cannon. They can do it for MPF too.

[svp67]

Quote: OgnennyiKotik

M8 Thunderbolt / AGS 120 variant with 120mm cannon. They can do it for MPF too.

Lord, I haven't seen anything uglier and more absurd for a long time ...

[Catfish]

Hmmm ... something subtly reminded of this.

[Lionnvrsk]

Quote: OgnennyiKotik

M8 Thunderbolt / AGS 120 variant with 120mm cannon.

Looks like the Leader of the Redskins!

[Dodikson]

and I wrote to him just a couple of hours ago that the wrong tank was on his ava.
so there was a solution to what his tank should actually be on the Ave.

[Mountain shooter]

Can it swim? Doesn't matter ... it also came to them that light, but with powerful weapons, combat vehicles were needed.

[Alex777]

So ours, looking at the suffering of our partners, moved along the Octopus ...

[Mavrikiy]

BAE Systems Corporation showed the final look of the "light tank" developed under the MPF program

Well, yes, it looks like a tank ...

The order for the first pre-production batch of 26 vehicles is planned to be issued in the second half of 2022 with an option for the second pre-production batch of 28 vehicles. Full-scale serial production is planned to be launched in 2025.

Look, it’s not worse with us, in terms of timing ..

[Cananecat]

Somehow high the center of gravity will be located at the tank, which is displayed in the graphical version, if our T72s are tumbling at speed, this one will fly even further.

[Grigory_45]

Quote: Canecat

if our T72s are tumbling at speed, this one will fly even further

Do your tanks have to fight or participate in Formula 1?))

[KCA]

THOSE. do you know how the T-34 fought the Tigers and the Royal Tigers?

[Grigory_45]

I know what the combat speed of the tank is. I can assure you that it is far from the maximum.

[Cananecat]

And that during the conduct of hostilities, a speed limit is set for tanks?

[Grigory_45]

Will you be able to fight from a tank flying at a speed of 70 km / h?))

Seriously, there are several interesting articles written on this topic (real tank speeds on the march, in battle on various types of terrain). Find, read, and you will not be sure that tanks are worn like in "biathlon". In real conditions, tanks do not move at a speed of more than 40 km / h, even on the march (at this speed, the interval between vehicles should already be at least 75 meters). In combat conditions - even less, 20 versts per hour.

[Cananecat]

When acting in units, I agree. But alone, when exiting under fire or breaking through, will you observe 40 km / h? Yes, the MBT has a long acceleration, but the light one will be much shorter. That's why they create it. For a mobile battle.

[Grigory_45]

Quote: Canecat

That's why they create it. For a maneuverable battle

they are created for only one reason - heavy Abrams are not mobile. It is difficult for them to move their 60-ton carcasses on the ground. bridges and roads become obstacles. They are difficult to transport, not every US military aircraft will take the Abrams. By ships - for a long time. A light tank can also "bring good", almost as much as a heavy one, and since the reckoning is not on the enemy with armored vehicles, the armor against BOPS can be weakened, being content with KAZ

And they will move at exactly the same speed. Fleeing the battlefield is not about fighting. From a tank, even a modern one, you can hardly see anything, and you offer to overclock it for complete happiness.

[Amin_vivec]

Namely - "to do good, and to do good"))))))

[tikhonov66]

"...
In combat conditions - even less, 20 versts per hour
..."
- tanks cover the distance from the line of attack to the enemy's trenches AT THE MAXIMUM SPEED. Bo, the fewer tanks are in the affected area, the less likely it is ...
- and this is the MATCH !!!, which you need to know ...

[Incvizitor]

Well, let them gain more, less protection and fight in cities, in local conflicts, so that shelling from all sides and not accelerate, I would look at this.

[Dodikson]

this is where the normal 57mm gun on TBMP comes in handy.
otherwise the stsuki put LSHO-57 on it, there seems to be like 57mm, but they won't take a normal BTT.
but the normal 57mm tanks such as seeds will click.

[tralflot1832]

As they said the other day, the militiamen from RPG 7 together with the crew will burn five times, they will quickly pick up the mass of Abrams. Neither a tank nor an infantry fighting vehicle, can swim but not for long, like a stone launched from the shore "pancake" I suspect in the crew the negros will be not only loaders!

[KCA]

No, the situation has changed, now the black man will sit in the tower, and the tank commander will kiss his boots

[Grigory_45]

Quote: tralflot1832

I suspect the blacks in the crew will not only be loaders!

alas, they won't. There is an automatic loader.

Quote: tralflot1832

five times will be burned by the militia from RPG 7 together with the crew, quickly the mass of Abrams will pick up

it is unlikely. We need a relatively light air transportable tank (Abrams can only carry heavy VTA aircraft or their ships). For the rapid reaction forces. Nowadays, there are no tanks at all in light brigades, a 30-ton one is still better than nothing.
As for

Quote: tralflot1832

five times will be burned by militias from RPG 7

that's what the KAZ armored vehicle costs. And it is not stupid people, the Americans, who let tanks into the city alone.

[Guru]

Neither a tank nor an infantry fighting vehicle, knows how to swim but not for long, like a stone launched from the shore "pancake" I suspect in the crew negros will not only be loaders!

Judging by your comment "Blacks will sit on the oars" I wish I could see it

[Hermit21]

Hmm, a 35-ton armorless non-floating something with a 105 mm anti-penetration gun. You can't drink experience

[Evil Booth]

100 mm bmp3 has a howitzer cannon and here it is just a cannon and without a landing and other type of fly to swim. I wonder why Abrams can't throw OFZ instead of this cardboard. after all, t64 carton has become and it weighs the same but also larger and therefore thinner.

[Graz]

the tower seems to have grown in size compared to the old version of the tank

[AshPoseidon]

The samples indicated in the article are not suitable for landing. Too heavy, but in my opinion the existing parachute system can withstand no more than 18 tons. In this regard, our "Lotus" rules. And according to other characteristics, it is also not bad.

[IS-80_RVGK2]

What does the lotus have to do with it? He is not a tank, but quite a self-propelled gun.

[IS-80_RVGK2]

105 mm cannon. A strange car. She cannot fight MBT. Sometimes even 120-125 mm guns are not enough against fortifications. Drive some African natives in rusty APCs?

[voyaka uh]

They will put on the famous English L-7.
She is not omnipotent, as you correctly noted, but at 4 km
you can hit a soccer ball with the first shell.
For its accuracy, this gun was so loved in the 50-70s.
Many combined projectiles have been developed for her:
kumma, land mine, kumma + land mine, buckshot, blanks.

[IS-80_RVGK2]

Accuracy is good, but 105 mm ... Hmmm .. And a large range of shells is both a plus and a minus. No wonder, as far as I remember, the same USA wants to greatly reduce the range of shells for the Abrams cannon.

[voyaka uh]

Abrams had no variety at all.
It was made as an anti-tank SPG.
Like a Panther. Powerful forehead and lethal uranium OBPS.
There weren't even ordinary high-explosive shells!
While Hussein's tanks were smashing the vhlam, everything was fine.
When the support of the infantry was needed in urban battles,
The Abrams began to burn from the sides from the RPG, and their shooting was
ineffective.

[IS-80_RVGK2]

At the moment, there is a fairly wide range of products. And burning from the sides is more a problem of interaction with the infantry and with not very good command, than a problem of the range of shells.

[Grigory_45]

Quote: IS-80_RVGK2

105 mm cannon. A strange car. She cannot fight MBT

105mm rifled is pretty good. Accurate, has a decent start. speed, very good OFS. This tank is not for fighting modern MBTs (although it will not seem a little to them in the side, stern and weakened zones), it is for supporting the infantry.

[Evil Booth]

and Abrams for what? optimization again, right?

[Grigory_45]

Quote: Evil Booth

and Abrams for what? optimization again, right?

Abrams is too heavy. Therefore, it is not very mobile.
A light tank is not a replacement for MBT (at least for now), but an addition, use against an enemy that does not have modern armored vehicles (and this is 80-90% of the military conflicts that the United States waged in the post-war period).

[Evil Booth]

I do not prefer the wording I could not make an ordinary projectile Abrams made another 1 as a BE tank of 35 tons with armor from armored personnel carriers.

[Grigory_45]

Quote: Evil Booth

could not make an ordinary shell for Abrams

exactly, that's exactly what it is)) It's okay that the storage is full of Abrams, incl. first releases with the M68?

[Evil Booth]

is there an office there? powerful? almost like bmp3 huh? there are a lot of things in storage, for example, steam locomotives. Really active tanks in the USA 1000 Abrams. leopards2 in germany almost 300 leclerc like that ...

[Grigory_45]

Quote: Evil Booth

is there an office there?

The M68 is the English version of the 105mm L7. Not familiar with this system? Then I recommend that you read something about her, as an educational program. So you did not twist your finger at the temple, but you hit your ass.
Yeah, but to make a new tank for the sake of the OFS, it must be very good. smart, just incredibly smart))

[Evil Booth]

so you read the l7 type cannon was useless against Soviet counterparts. its predecessor and the one that is then similar. the same t90 had a juroni 830 in 88, when abrams with 800 penetration appeared in the mid-90s and there were already a hundred of them ... right now, a thousand), the same e4 shell does not differ in any way externally. so what is there with l7 it will be your chat instead of shooting, right? straight from abrams? or burst, burst. there are no tanks in the usa because there are no artillery shells and there will be no.

[Evil Booth]

what is such an office? And what is such a cumulative in a challenger for example? twisting into grooves makes the cumulative tank a cracker of low power in comparison with RPG. just plate and current from the fragments there are your fantasies. this, as you called it, has a radius of defeat less than that of rgd5. and then the fragments fly up to 15 meters, although they scatter a hundred times, but the blast wave decreases with the square of the distance

[voyaka uh]

The most important thing is that there is KAZ.
There is already a chance to survive against cumulative threats: RPGs and ATGMs.
If KAZ is also aimed upwards - against kamikaze drones, then there will be
generally fine.

[IS-80_RVGK2]

In general, all these attempts to create light cavalry in a new way give me some doubts. And I'm not the only one. The leadership of your army, apparently, too.

[voyaka uh]

I also look at this with skepticism.
Although we began to produce wheeled, such as BPM / light tanks Eitan.
But there was no combat use yet, there is no experience.

[IS-80_RVGK2]

Eitan 30-35 tons. This is a very heavy armored personnel carrier.

[OgnennyiKotik]

Extreme modifications of the Merkava, Abrams, Leopard in an additional body kit with all additional systems already under 80 tons, if not for. The maneuverability of such tanks is extremely weak, and they did not stop punching. As a result, costs rise, opportunities fall, and complete protection has never been there.
More maneuverable, airmobile light, wheeled and medium tanks with the latest optoelectronic systems, BIUS, KAZ, integrated into network-centric systems provide more opportunities.
It is necessary to take into account the development of UAVs, the ability to run away faster and hide becomes more important than the thickness of the armor.
This does not mean the complete disappearance of MBTs (more likely already heavy tanks), but led to a decrease in the importance of their role and number.

[IS-80_RVGK2]

And what are the possibilities against the same MBT? Burn out after the first hit? Who prevents you from sticking all this network-centricity on the MBT? The same Octopus can understand. Because there is a full-fledged tank gun. And this miracle is not. What it is for and how it is planned to be used is completely incomprehensible to me.

[IS-80_RVGK2]

Although now I looked at a lot of Namer. Taki, oh. 60 tons. Compared to him, perhaps easy.

[voyaka uh]

And Namer costs as much as Merkava.
Expensive, literally.

[IS-80_RVGK2]

Expensive. But life is more precious. I'm still waiting for our MO to be able to release its analogue. But apparently it will not be soon, and for now it is proposed to overcome it on modernized armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles with bulletproof armor and no anti-mine resistance.

[Evil Booth]

and is that tank from the us resistant? um that's why. or it should be recalled how dozens of Abrams burned in Iraq according to American sources. or to show cartoons with Turkish leopards in Syria? there are no towers to be seen.

[Decimalegio]

From what I've read, the initial evaluation tests of military vehicles (Bae and GD) are scheduled for January 4th and will run until early summer. Instead of real trials, trials give soldiers the opportunity to voice their opinions on MPF ​​improvements and will serve to improve MPF tactics and methods. The winner of the MPF competition is expected to be selected by the end of 2022. I apologize for my Russian from machine translation.

[lvov_aleksey]

striped rest !!! we will have amphibious tanks
Sprut-SDM1

[seagull]

"Octopus"? No??? Something very similar ...

[Evil Booth]

A sprud SD floats and 120 + mm

[Grigory_45]

Quote: Evil Booth

And the sprud SD floats flies

itself flies?))

[Evil Booth]

and the subject, as I understand it myself