Latest news with #Abrams
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Minigun-Equipped M1 Abrams Tank Being Tested By Army
A U.S. Army armored unit recently tested an M1 Abrams tank armed with a 7.62x51mm M134 Minigun in place of one of its secondary machine guns. The configuration, which looks like it was pulled straight out of an entry in the Call of Duty or Battlefield video game franchises, offers a boost in the volume of small-caliber firepower that an Abrams can pump out. The 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division (1AD), based at Fort Bliss in Texas, shared pictures of the Minigun-armed Abrams, seen at the top of this story and below, last week on its official Instagram page. 'Tank crews from the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division showcase their lethality during live-fire testing of the M134 Minigun, mounted on an M1 Abrams tank,' an accompanying post reads. 'This cutting-edge integration of high-volume rotary firepower with heavy armor amplifies the brigade's combat versatility, giving Ready First the tactical edge in close-quarters and complex terrain. As the brigade continues to evolve, innovations like this ensure dominance on tomorrow's battlefield.' TWZ has reached out to the public affairs office at Fort Bliss for more information about this testing, including whether this is a capability the 1st Armored Division is looking to field operationally or is just experimenting with at present. The pictures show the M134 installed in place of the 7.62x51mm M240-series machine gun that is typically mounted on a ring around the loader's hatch on the roof of the turrets on Abrams tanks. Though the M134 and M240 family fire the same ammunition, the two guns are completely different in every way. The six-barrelled Gatling-type Minigun can be set to fire up to 6,000 rounds every minute compared to the 650 to 750 rounds per minute rate of fire of a typical single-barrelled M240. The latest M1A2 System Enhancement Package Version 3 (SEPv3) Abrams tanks in Army service today are typically armed with a .50 caliber M2 machine gun in a remotely operated weapons station on the turret roof in front of the commander's hatch. The tanks also have another M240-series machine gun mounted coaxially with the 120mm main gun. To go along with the M134's high rate of fire, the Minigun installation tested on the 1/1st Armored Division's Abrams also features a 3,000-round magazine. The gun itself is fitted with a Trijicon MGRS non-magnifying optical sight, which the Army started acquiring in recent years for use on M2 machine guns. MGRS sights have at least been evaluated by other branches of the U.S. military, including special operations units, for use on various types of machine guns mounted on ground vehicles and helicopters, as well as warships and smaller watercraft. Variants of the Minigun have been in U.S. military service since the 1960s in a wide variety of air, ground, and maritime applications, and the core design has been improved upon multiple times since then. Historically, the use of Miniguns on ground vehicles within America's armed forces has been largely confined to the special operations community. A vehicle-mounted Minigun provides the ability to rapidly bring a very high volume of fire to bear on an individual target or a general area, like a building or a treeline. This can be particularly valuable for breaking up ambushes or otherwise suppressing enemy forces. This is highlighted in the 1/1st Armored Division's Instagram post's mention of the weapon offering the tank's crew a 'tactical edge in close-quarters and complex terrain.' In U.S. military usage, the term 'complex terrain' includes dense urban environments, where tanks and other heavy armored vehicles can be especially vulnerable to ambushes, given the limited room to maneuver and ample cover for hostile forces. In those conditions, armored vehicle crews typically operate in a buttoned-up configuration with hatches sealed, offering added protection, but also reducing situational awareness. The U.S. military sees combat in sprawling 'megacities' as an ever-more-likely feature of future conflicts, especially high-end conventional fights. Tanks and other heavy armored vehicles are also now increasingly challenged by drones, especially small and highly maneuverable weaponized types, against which a weapon like the Minigun could be more effective than their slower-firing cousins. The pictures shared by the 1/1st Armored Division show that the Minigun mounted on the Abrams is capable of being fired at higher angles, which would be useful for engaging aerial threats. At the same time, at least in the configuration that has been shown so far, the Minigun has to be manually operated by a soldier standing in the loader's hatch, exposing them to enemy fire. A new section on counter-drone tactics that was recently added to an Army tank warfare manual drew criticism in part because of its recommendations for tank commanders to stand in open hatches and use hand signals to alert other friendly forces to incoming enemy drones. Critics also highlighted advice to rapidly disperse off established paths (and potentially into nearby minefields) and to use M1028 canister rounds (essentially very large shotgun shells) from the M1's 120mm main gun as the prime anti-drone weapon, as not just unlikely to be effective, but also likely to add risk. The plan to leave a track and break into a herringbone will most likely result in multiple landmine hits. And the laughable instructions to shoot canister at a rapidly moving FPV could only have have emanated from a General. — Roy (@GrandpaRoy2) July 13, 2025 Installing the Minigun in a remotely operated mount could help address the vulnerability issue. The Army has also been separately pursuing new automated targeting capabilities for larger mounted guns, leveraging developments in artificial intelligence and machine learning, which could also be applicable in this context, especially for spotting and engaging small drones moving erratically. The Army is also fielding computerized optical sights for individual rifles to aid in targeting small drones, and it might be possible to integrate them with machine guns on armored vehicles. There is also just the matter of the Minigun's appetite for ammunition, which has historically been a limiting factor for the weapon. Since they are electrically powered, the guns can be set to fire at slower rates. Even at a rate of fire of 3,000 rounds per minute, it would take only 60 seconds of continuous fire to expend the full magazine seen installed together with the gun on the Abrams. Still, if the gun is set to fire too slowly, the firepower advantage over a traditional machine gun would also be lost. Larger magazines also translate to higher vehicle weights. A heavy armored vehicle like the Abrams does have the benefit of having an array of weapons that can be employed as appropriate. The Minigun testing conducted by 1/1st Armored Division comes amid a broader surge in interest within the service in new defensive features for its Abrams tanks and other heavy armored vehicles. This has been driven in no small part by observations from the war in Ukraine, where tanks remain an important fixture, but face an ever-expanding threat ecosystem in which drones are a huge factor. Reposting this video showing a Russian T-80BVM tank with a roof screen and deploying smoke surviving multiple FPV hits and — Rob Lee (@RALee85) December 13, 2023 An Army Science Board report published back in 2023 had already concluded that heavy armored vehicles like the Abrams will continue to have a role in future conflicts, but will also be a steadily less and less dominant presence on the battlefield in the coming decades. In the meantime, the immediate future for Army Abrams tanks may now include the addition of Miniguns to their arsenals. Contact the author: joe@ Solve the daily Crossword
San Francisco Chronicle
3 days ago
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
CJ Adams hits a leadoff homer and steals 3 bases as the Nationals beat the Twins 7-2
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — CJ Abrams had two hits including a leadoff homer, stole three bases and scored three runs on Sunday as the Washington Nationals beat the Minnesota Twins 7-2. Nationals starter Jake Irvin (8-5), a Twin Cities native pitching at Target Field for the first time, gave up two runs on five hits over seven innings. Josh Bell went 3 for 4 with an RBI. Matt Wallner homered and Harrison Bader had two hits for Minnesota, which has lost six of nine since the All-Star break. Washington broke it open with four runs in the fifth off Travis Adams (1-1), keyed by Alex Call's two-run single. Abrams hit the first pitch of the game from Twins opener Cole Sands for his 14th home run of the season. After the Twins tied it on Wallner's second-inning homer, Abrams manufactured a run for the Nationals. He led off the third inning with a single, stole second and third and scored on Luis García Jr.'s sacrifice fly. Minnesota tied it again on Trevor Larnach's sacrifice fly in the bottom half. Key moment Leading 4-2, the Nationals loaded the bases with one out in the fifth. Call hit a grounder up the middle that second baseman Brooks Lee was ready to turn into an inning-ending double play. Instead, the ball skipped off the side of the mound and caromed over Lee's head for a two-run single. Key stat Abrams has five leadoff homers this year and 12 in 470 career games. Up next Simeon Woods Richardson (5-4, 4.14 ERA) will take the mound for the Twins on Monday as they open a three-game series against visiting Boston. The Nationals travel to Houston, where Brad Lord (2-5, 3.39) will start on Monday. ___
Fox Sports
3 days ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
CJ Adams hits a leadoff homer and steals 3 bases as the Nationals beat the Twins 7-2
Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — CJ Abrams had two hits including a leadoff homer, stole three bases and scored three runs on Sunday as the Washington Nationals beat the Minnesota Twins 7-2. Nationals starter Jake Irvin (8-5), a Twin Cities native pitching at Target Field for the first time, gave up two runs on five hits over seven innings. Josh Bell went 3 for 4 with an RBI. Matt Wallner homered and Harrison Bader had two hits for Minnesota, which has lost six of nine since the All-Star break. Daylen Lile tripled and scored on Paul DeJong's sacrifice fly in the fourth to put the Nationals on top 3-2. Washington broke it open with four runs in the fifth off Travis Adams (1-1), keyed by Alex Call's two-run single. Abrams hit the first pitch of the game from Twins opener Cole Sands for his 14th home run of the season. After the Twins tied it on Wallner's second-inning homer, Abrams manufactured a run for the Nationals. He led off the third inning with a single, stole second and third and scored on Luis García Jr.'s sacrifice fly. Minnesota tied it again on Trevor Larnach's sacrifice fly in the bottom half. Key moment Leading 4-2, the Nationals loaded the bases with one out in the fifth. Call hit a grounder up the middle that second baseman Brooks Lee was ready to turn into an inning-ending double play. Instead, the ball skipped off the side of the mound and caromed over Lee's head for a two-run single. Key stat Abrams has five leadoff homers this year and 12 in 470 career games. Up next Simeon Woods Richardson (5-4, 4.14 ERA) will take the mound for the Twins on Monday as they open a three-game series against visiting Boston. The Nationals travel to Houston, where Brad Lord (2-5, 3.39) will start on Monday. ___ AP MLB: recommended Item 1 of 3
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
CJ Adams hits a leadoff homer and steals 3 bases as the Nationals beat the Twins 7-2
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — CJ Abrams had two hits including a leadoff homer, stole three bases and scored three runs on Sunday as the Washington Nationals beat the Minnesota Twins 7-2. Nationals starter Jake Irvin (8-5), a Twin Cities native pitching at Target Field for the first time, gave up two runs on five hits over seven innings. Josh Bell went 3 for 4 with an RBI. Matt Wallner homered and Harrison Bader had two hits for Minnesota, which has lost six of nine since the All-Star break. Daylen Lile tripled and scored on Paul DeJong's sacrifice fly in the fourth to put the Nationals on top 3-2. Washington broke it open with four runs in the fifth off Travis Adams (1-1), keyed by Alex Call's two-run single. Abrams hit the first pitch of the game from Twins opener Cole Sands for his 14th home run of the season. After the Twins tied it on Wallner's second-inning homer, Abrams manufactured a run for the Nationals. He led off the third inning with a single, stole second and third and scored on Luis García Jr.'s sacrifice fly. Minnesota tied it again on Trevor Larnach's sacrifice fly in the bottom half. Key moment Leading 4-2, the Nationals loaded the bases with one out in the fifth. Call hit a grounder up the middle that second baseman Brooks Lee was ready to turn into an inning-ending double play. Instead, the ball skipped off the side of the mound and caromed over Lee's head for a two-run single. Key stat Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Abrams has five leadoff homers this year and 12 in 470 career games. Up next Simeon Woods Richardson (5-4, 4.14 ERA) will take the mound for the Twins on Monday as they open a three-game series against visiting Boston. The Nationals travel to Houston, where Brad Lord (2-5, 3.39) will start on Monday. ___ AP MLB:
Hamilton Spectator
3 days ago
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
CJ Adams hits a leadoff homer and steals 3 bases as the Nationals beat the Twins 7-2
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — CJ Abrams had two hits including a leadoff homer, stole three bases and scored three runs on Sunday as the Washington Nationals beat the Minnesota Twins 7-2. Nationals starter Jake Irvin (8-5), a Twin Cities native pitching at Target Field for the first time, gave up two runs on five hits over seven innings. Josh Bell went 3 for 4 with an RBI. Matt Wallner homered and Harrison Bader had two hits for Minnesota, which has lost six of nine since the All-Star break. Daylen Lile tripled and scored on Paul DeJong's sacrifice fly in the fourth to put the Nationals on top 3-2. Washington broke it open with four runs in the fifth off Travis Adams (1-1), keyed by Alex Call's two-run single. Abrams hit the first pitch of the game from Twins opener Cole Sands for his 14th home run of the season. After the Twins tied it on Wallner's second-inning homer, Abrams manufactured a run for the Nationals. He led off the third inning with a single, stole second and third and scored on Luis García Jr.'s sacrifice fly. Minnesota tied it again on Trevor Larnach's sacrifice fly in the bottom half. Key moment Leading 4-2, the Nationals loaded the bases with one out in the fifth. Call hit a grounder up the middle that second baseman Brooks Lee was ready to turn into an inning-ending double play. Instead, the ball skipped off the side of the mound and caromed over Lee's head for a two-run single. Key stat Abrams has five leadoff homers this year and 12 in 470 career games. Up next Simeon Woods Richardson (5-4, 4.14 ERA) will take the mound for the Twins on Monday as they open a three-game series against visiting Boston. The Nationals travel to Houston, where Brad Lord (2-5, 3.39) will start on Monday. ___ AP MLB:
