If you see an M1 Abrams tank coming in your general direction, you run as fast as you can in the other direction, that's just a fact of life. The go-to main battle tank of the US military is primed and ready to rain a deadly storm of lead on anything in its path and then squash it like a pancake for good measure if needed.
Make no mistake though, none of this comes cheap. It may not break the bank in the same way the F-35 Lighting II did, but the M1 program has cost the U.S taxpayer billions of dollars over the course of four decades. So what's the real reason the Abrams tank routinely ranks among the top most expensive military projects of the last fifty years? Well, like lots of uber-expensive military projects, the real-life cost to build them often exceeds the budget that was laid out for them.
The M1 Abrams is a modern military marvel, but with technology as advanced as what it brings to the table, it definitely doesn't come cheap.
It Comes With A Freakin Jet Engine!
The Honeywell AGT1500 gas turbine engine designed for the M1 Abrams has its roots as an aircraft power plant but has the grunt and the power to pull the 60 plus ton war machine through whatever conditions it could ever come across. With 1500 horsepower and over 2750 foot-pounds of torque at its disposal, it's one of the most powerful main battle tank engines ever produced.
Make no mistake, the fact that any main battle tank utilizes what is essentially a jet engine is badass on a number of levels, but it also causes a couple of extra headaches for the men and women who have to maintain them. A distinct set of skills, expertise, equipment and training is needed to service these great beasts. That kind of know-how doesn't come cheap, and the difficulty of maintenance is one of the many things causing cost overruns on the Abrams program to rise as each year passes. It must be said, of course, the engine is only one component of a machine with thousands of moving parts. So any way you slice it, it's going to be expensive as can be to keep these big American tanks going.
They've Made Almost 10,000 Of Them
It'd be one thing if the Abrams was a niche product only produced in small numbers for highly specialized roles. But in terms of military production, the M1 might as well be a Toyota Corolla. An estimated 7,500 plus M1's have been manufactured for use by domestic United States military personnel, but also for use with allies like Egypt, Kuwait, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and Australia.
It's thought that Taiwan, Greece, and Brazil could also receive Abrams tanks sometime in the near future. Investments from foreign powers may help offset staggering cost overruns somewhat, but not nearly enough to make a real dent. In the meantime, the bulk of the R&D that goes into the maintenance, upgrading, and extended service of the Abrams program will lie solely on the United States to attend to.
Let's not forget that the M1 can't transport itself around wherever it pleases, it requires a full-size military transport plane to ferry it from warzone to warzone. With so many thousands of M1's slated to see combat service across the world, the cost of maintaining the fleet of transport planes that are so vital to the M1's success should be included in cost overruns that the US needs to address.
It's Been Upgraded Up To Its Eyeballs With The Latest Tech
So many variants and upgraded models of the original M1 exist that it would be impossible to name them all here. But rest assured, there are at least two dozen variants of the Abrams tank ready to complete whatever mission the US military instructs its crew to do. There are bespoke Abrams models designed for everything from infantry combat to mine-clearing to electronic countermeasures and even a tactical assault bridge version. Which extends a long metal track in front of itself to allow vehicles to cross over destroyed bridges and other gaps that normally would be impossible.
Improvements to the tank's composite armor system ensure subsequent M1's will be as impervious to small arms fire as any M1 made before, but also have increased resistance to larger projectiles, namely from enemy tanks and aircraft. All in all, the M1 isn't going anywhere anytime soon, and if you think the upgrades that have been made to it thus far are crazy, we can't wait to see what the US military has in store for the tank going forward. Whatever ends up happening it's safe to say these upgrades are going to be expensive as can be.
Sources: military.com, Defenseimagery.mil
