The Ivy Division crew of the US Army’s 3rd Armoured Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) have tested the newest 120mm tactical round for the M1A2 Abrams main battle tank (MBT).
New Jersey’s Picatinny Arsenal engineers have developed the advanced multi-purpose (AMP) round. It is a replacement for four legacy service rounds.
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The XM-1147 AMP round is designed to allow the tank crews to perform missions with greater survivability.
According to US Operational Test Command Manoeuvre Test Directorate test officer major Michael P Brabner, the crews ‘conducted testing at the Yuma Proving Ground’ in Arizona.
Tank Crew 1, commanded by 2nd lieutenant Jake Hall, rolled out in a fully combat-loaded tank on an ‘operationally-realistic simulated mission’ and witnessed the firepower of the AMP round.
Tank Crew 2 also used the AMP round on the same host of targets in the Yuma desert. This crew was commanded by staff sergeant Nicholas Smearman.
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By GlobalData8th Infantry Regiment 1st Battalion “Fighting Eagles” Charlie Company “Crazy Horse” Vanderbuilt said: “This round is not something to be taken lightly.
“Being able to see and then destroy anti-tank guided missile targets beyond 2,000m and then transition immediately to breaching walls or obstacles is an incredibly powerful feeling!”
More than 90 AMP rounds were shot at targets including anti-tank guided missile teams, IFVs, bunker, and massed infantry.
The AMP round offers capabilities such as the new airburst mode, and can break through double reinforced walls made of concrete.
Jake Hall added: “We now know what it feels like to roll out in a fully combat loaded tank on operationally realistic combat missions and recognise how important the AMP round will be to US Army ABCT fighting forces in the fights yet to be fought.”
Last year, engineers at Picatinny Arsenal developed a new armoured turret for anti-tank missile gunners.
