The US Army has been without a light tank since the retirement of the M551 Sheridan in the early 1990s
The US Army has made a decision on the long-awaited Mobile Protected Fire, or MPF program, a project to provide the Army with a light tank
The machine is essentially a light tank, an armored turreted and tracked vehicle with a big gun
The contract, awarded to General Dynamics Land Systems
The total life-cycle cost of the program, including sustainment, military construction and personnel, is estimated at $17 billion
The Army plans to buy 504 vehicles, which are projected to be in the inventory for at least 30 years
MPF is basically a replacement for the M551
The Army is steadfast in its insistence that Mobile Protected Firepower is a non-tank
Although it can fulfill some tank missions
it lacks the armored protection to slug it out with other tanks and survive on a battlefield saturated with anti-tank guided missiles
Army units with MPFs would likely keep them behind the front line
bringing them up to deal with stubborn obstacles such as enemy bunkers, strongpoints, and light armored vehicles
Although infantry have their own M3E1 recoilless rifles and Javelin anti-tank missiles, sometimes you just need a big gun to blow things up
In a pinch, MPFs could fend off full-sized enemy tanks, but the lack of heavy armor makes only defensive battles feasible
According to information from the manufacturer, the new vehicle weighs about 38 tons, much lighter than Abrams
This could give the Army far more logistical ease than the MBT
It is based on a light tank conventional layout with the driver and engine at the front, and the turret located at the rear of the hull
The turret has a crew of three including a commander, gunner, and loader
The vehicle is fitted with a 105mm turret gun
The turret architecture is based on the M1 Abrams tank using the M1A2 Sep V3 fire control system and CITV
There is also a 12.7mm heavy machine gun, mounted on the commander hatch
The tank's mobility and relative firepower will provide soldiers with speed
protection, lethality and the ability to wage a multi-domain battle
working in concert with other ground forces to overwhelm the enemy with multiple simultaneous challenges
Mobility is provided by a Diesel engine instead of the turbine used on the Abrams MBT
A light tank is easier to quickly deploy globally, and once in the theater, the smaller vehicles could cross lighter bridges
pass through narrower city streets, and wade through marshier terrain than huge M1 Abrams main battle tanks that are currently in use
The US is not the only country interested in rapidly-deployable light tanks
India has recently given approval for the design and development of light tanks in the wake of increased Chinese aggression in the Himalayas
particularly after the conflict that broke out in the summer of 2020
And the US of course will not be able to stay out of the light tank competition