The United States Army is seeking funds to enhance the survivability of its prized Abrams Main battle tanks (MBTs) by drawing lessons from the Ukraine war, where the tanks literally became “sitting ducks” for Russian drones.

The US Army has allocated $107 million to enhance the survivability of over 400 of its M1 Abrams MBTs in the 2026 Procurement of Weapons and Tracked Combat Vehicles (W&TCV, Army) report, as pointed out by the Ukraine-based publication, Kyiv Post.

The enhancements for the Abrams fleet include top attack protection, laser attack warning receivers, “belly” protection against mines and improvised explosive devices, and “stealth-enhancing” coating, to name a few.

The majority of the funding, nearly $92 million, will be allocated to the GM1914 VPS Top Attack Protection passive armor kits, which will be installed on approximately 350 tanks that comprise the four frontline Armored Brigade Combat Teams.

This passive add-on armor is designed to provide additional overhead protection for the crew compartment and hatches against shaped-charge and explosively formed projectiles (EFPs).

This is expected to be the first step towards equipping all the existing and future tanks with this enhanced protection, the report emphasized.

These steps come more than a year after the Ukrainian Army deployed 31 refurbished M1A1 Abrams tanks. Projected as game changers by Ukrainian politicians and military experts ahead of their deployment, the tanks suffered a debacle as they were relentlessly hammered by cheap and expendable Russian drones, leading to their withdrawal from the battlefield.

The Abrams Debacle In Ukraine

The United States delivered 31 M1A1 Abrams MBTs to Ukraine in September 2023, in an attempt to bolster the embattled country’s ground-based capability against Russia. In fact, the delivery was approved by the former Biden administration following months of lobbying and campaigning by Ukrainian officials, who considered these tanks to be a silver bullet.

The tanks were deployed to the frontline in February 2024.

Of these, 22 tanks have now been lost, either destroyed or damaged, or abandoned, according to Oryx, a Dutch open-source intelligence website that tracks military losses on both sides. The actual losses could be even higher, given that Oryx only relies on visual confirmation for documenting the losses.

Ukrainian media stated that, like the majority of main battle tanks in service with Ukraine, the Abrams are designed to engage in “tank-on-tank” combat and are equipped with substantial frontal protection.

However, the Russians struck them where they were most vulnerable: from above. The American Abrams, much like the German Leopard 2 tanks, proved to be extremely vulnerable to first-person view (FPV) attack drones, modern anti-tank guided weapons (ATGWs), and guided artillery.

These combat-hardened tanks were not equipped with the latest upgraded depleted uranium armor and fire control systems, which made them even less useful.

The staggering loss of Abrams particularly alludes to evolving drone tactics, the proliferation of kamikaze drones, and an uptick in the use of FPV in a battlefield.

Nearly all of these attack drones are controlled via virtual reality screens strapped over the operator’s eyes and forehead for improved control, as the feed is displayed from the drone’s perspective.

These inexpensive attack drones are simple, off-the-shelf UAVs retrofitted with warheads or explosives from Rocket-Propelled Grenade (RPG) rounds, allowing them to be flown into targets.

A Ukrainian Commander previously warned that the Abrams needs more protection to survive, whereas operators expressed concerns about the Abrams tanks’ armor, suggesting that it may not be adequate to withstand modern weaponry.

“The tank’s armor is not sufficient for this moment,” one crew member, known by the callsign Joker, told CNN in May 2024. “It doesn’t protect the crew. For real, today, this is the war of drones. So now, when the tank rolls out, they always try to hit it.”

“What we have is more for direct tank-to-tank fights, which happen very rarely,” Joker explained at the time.

All but one Abrams, originally designed to ace the tank-on-tank battle, was hit and destroyed by a Russian T-72B3 tank in March 2024 near Avdiivka.

At the time, the Russian Ministry of Defense (RuMoD) stated that a T-72B3 tank crew destroyed the M1A1 Abrams with a single shot during a tank-on-tank duel in the Avdiivka direction.

According to reports, the tank’s 125mm smoothbore gun reportedly fired an armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS) round, designed for high penetration.

At the time, pro-Russian media as well as military bloggers asserted that the T-72B3 hit the Abrams in a vulnerable area, possibly between the turret and hull, leading to its destruction.

Some sources suggest the Abrams may have been immobilized or damaged before the T-72B3’s fired at it, potentially by a kamikaze drone or an ATGM like the Kornet.

Though the EurAsian Times could not verify how the Russian tank managed to hit and obliterate the M1A1 Abrams, the incident hogged headlines for weeks, with Russian media pitting its older tanks as superior to the “much more advanced” Abrams.

By April 2024, Ukraine withdrew its Abrams from frontline service due to high losses and vulnerabilities to modern threats like drones, before re-deploying them in a limited role.

Kyiv’s forces also equipped the tanks with counter-measures such as production-standard anti-drone armor screens on their turrets and additional explosive reactive armor (ERA) modifications. Despite these defenses, the battlefield witnessed the adeptness of FPV (First-Person View) drone operators in exploiting even small gaps. And, the tank losses continued to mount.

For the US, the deployment of older, redundant Abrams has been a crucial learning experience, particularly in modern combat that has seen a massive proliferation of drones.

The US has been accelerating the production of the M1A2 SEPv3.3, an upgraded version of the Abrams that incorporates key advancements, such as the Israeli-made Trophy active protection system, which enhances its ability to counter anti-tank missiles. Additionally, the vehicle features upgraded counter-IED systems to improve survivability in modern combat environments.

The Army is seeking approximately $740.528 million for the upgrade and assembly of 30 Abrams tank variants to the M1A2 System Enhancement Package (SEP) v3 configuration, which includes features such as enhanced tank survivability, an upgraded automotive power pack, and improved computer systems and night vision capabilities. The service states that the M1A2 System Enhancement Package (SEP)v3 also incorporates turret and hull armor upgrades for enhanced crew survivability.

Additionally, the service is also working on the next-generation M1E3 Abrams, with a focus on enhancing survivability, mobility, and lethality for future battlefields.

It has sought $723.5 million to construct at least four M1E3 Abrams tank types, which is still in the early stages of design and development. The funding boost comes after the service pledged to significantly shorten the timeframe for deploying the upgraded tank.