Latest iteration of M1 Abrams main battle tank wraps up testing at Cold Regions Test Center

By Mark Schauer

What has outstanding offensive and defensive capability and represents the aweing tip of the spear in a major land war?

It’s the M1A2 System Enhancement Package (SEP) version 3 (v3) main battle tank, which wrapped up extensive coldweather testing at U.S. Army Cold Regions Test Center (CRTC) this winter to ensure it functions as it should wherever in the world it could be called on to serve.

Since testing at the Department of Defense’s lone extreme cold natural environment testing facility began in January 2020, the SEPv3 was driven more than 2,000 miles in rugged conditions across three seasons of sub-Arctic weather, fired hundreds of rounds for accuracy in extreme cold, and underwent testing of its auxiliary power unit, as well as numerous other sub-systems.

The list of improvements to test in the SEPv3 is lengthy: improved fire control electronics mean the SEPv3’s gun can shoot faster and more accurately; the armor has been improved; it can even utilize hubcaps and road arms manufactured with a 3D printer. Onboard diagnostics are much more robust, and technical manuals can be accessed from removable screens.

Though the platform was extensively tested at Yuma Test Center prior to being put through its paces in Alaska, the sub-zero temperatures brought forth glitches that would have been unimaginable in the desert.

“While we were doing the main weapon firing, we ran into a system issue where we weren’t able to fire,” said Elissa Palm, test officer. “After some pretty extensive troubleshooting, we were able to work with the product manager to identify a fix. We were able to prevent non-mission capable tanks from being fielded and implemented the fix across the fleet, then validated here with additional testing.”

Conducting evaluations in the extreme cold of an interior Alaskan winter usually brings unexpected challenges even for the rugged professionals of CRTC, and this test was no different. One night, overflow ice from the nearby Delta River flooded the gun position, then quickly refroze rock-solid.

“We had one of the portable latrines with ice that was hip-high: you weren’t going to move it until it got melted,” said Greg Netardus, Chief of CRTC’s Test Operation’s Division. “All of the equipment was frozen in: wheeled vehicles carrying the ammunition would not have been able to maneuver down there. It was not safe to put people down here.”

CRTC’s vast expanse includes other ranges that could be utilized, but not ones that had important infrastructure that the testers needed.

Since testing began in January 2020, the SEPv3 was driven more than 2,000 miles in three seasons of sub-Arctic weather, fired hundreds of rounds, and underwent testing of its auxiliary power unit, as well as numerous other sub-systems. (Photos by Sebastian Saarloos)

“We don’t have multiple ready to fire ranges with targets at known distances for the tank, so our Allied Trades shop did a really nice job in a very short time building a new mobile target based on a Conex and getting it set up for us,” said Palm.

The target that CRTC’s Allied Trades shop had to recreate on the fly consisted of tall poles upon which a target is pulled into place with a hand crank. The fixed target is emplaced in the ground, which required approvals for work and brush clearance prior to construction.

“We used a 40-foot ISO container as a base, so there was no dirt work or anchoring required,” said Sam Porter, CRTC’s Allied Trades Lead. “An ISO container meant we could build it offsite in the shop, where we had cranes and a man lift. We took the design of the target that was in place and modified it.”

The mobile target was re-used in the summer, and provides a flexible new capability for future tests.

“With this, they should be able to set it up and utilize wherever they are able to fire that gun,” said Porter.

To take advantage of the coldest temperatures possible, weapons firings were oftentimes conducted in the small hours of the morning. Possibly the most difficult testing challenge, however, occurred earlier in the calendar year: when the COVID crisis hit in March 2020, eight members of the testing team who had come to CRTC from Yuma were especially impacted by sudden restrictions in travel and new temporary duty (TDY) authorizations.

“A lot of times on these long-term tests, we like to trade people in and out so they can get back to their families,” said Palm. “This time it was really hard for us to get TDY approvals, so the crew was great in that most of them volunteered to stay until the end of the effort.”

The M1 and its variants have been tested at U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground and its constituent test centers for more than 40 years, and likely will continue to be for as long as the system remains in the ground combat arsenal. This testing has played a vital role in keeping the M1 the most capable tank in the world.

Via "The Outpost" newspaper

ERCA autoloader’s speed tested at YPG

The Extended Range Cannon Artillery (ERCA) weapon system has demonstrated it can get the job done. In previous tests and demonstrations, the ERCA has fired twice as far as any currently fielded Army cannon and has proven to fire pre-loaded rounds from a limited capacity autoloader magazine 2-3 times as fast as a gun crew. The autoloader’s speed was demonstrated once again during a test March 30 at Yuma Proving Ground (YPG).

The Extended Range Cannon Artillery autoloader speed was demonstrated during a test March 30 at U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground. (Photo by Ana Henderson)

The autoloader, designed by the Army Futures Command’s (AFC) Armament Center at Picatinny Arsenal, performs cannon loading tasks mechanically – setting the fuze, loading the projectile, propellant and stub charge, closing the breech – in sequence with barrel pointing to enable cannon firing at unprecedented rates.

Army Future’s Command Brig. Gen. John Rafferty Director of the Long Range Precision Fires (LRPF) Cross Functional Team (CFT) traveled to YPG to see the demonstration first hand and to meet the team who is behind all the work.

He told the team, “The Army is watching what you are doing and they are impressed.”

That team consists of the Yuma Test Center (YTC) workforce at YPG, Armament Center employees from Picatinny Arsenal, N.J. and Watervliet Arsenal, N.Y, and Project Manager Combat Ammunitions Systems employees, also from Picatinny Arsenal.

The demonstration involved the Armament Center’s 31-round fullcapacity autoloader using different types of charges, and the goal was to obtain data on how to increase the rate-of-fire in ERCA, and to verify the technical maturity of the major autoloader system subcomponents: projectile magazine, propellant magazine and transfer mechanism.

Rafferty explained, “We know that eventually we are going to have to improve the rate-of-fire of the system to deliver lethality against our adversaries in the volume that we need but also increase the survivability of our Soldiers and system. Allowing them to shoot quickly and move — because as soon as we put an ERCA battalion on the battlefield they will become the enemy’s number one priority target because the capability that it delivers is so significant.”

Chris Smith, Cannon Integrated Product Team Lead from the Armaments Center, whose team is in charge of cannon performance, added “With artillery when you are manually loading it, they can do it quickly in the beginning but then they get tired it slows down. This automated process will help keep that rate going by taking the user out of it and also keeps them safe.”

The demonstration involved the 31-round full-capacity autoloader using different types of charges, and the goal was to obtain data on how to increase the rate-of-fire. (Photos by Ana Henderson)

After viewing the inner workings of the weapon system, Rafferty along with YPG and YTC leadership and the ERCA teams viewed the live firing of three inert rounds from inside of blast protected workspaces at the gun position.

There was little time between each round and the work was, “Seamless” said Smith, “Today was very successful. Today’s demonstration was a culmination of a lot of hard work by the Armament Center and the industry partners to assemble and demonstrate an autoloader for ERCA against the requirements that were given a few years ago,” explained Senior Executive Service Anthony Sebasto, Armaments Center Executive Director for Enterprise and Systems Integration Center.

Rafferty told the crews on site, “With what we saw today, I don’t know how you could not be incredibility impressed.”

Now the data collected from this demonstration will be reviewed, analyzed and applied to the system.

“Today we demonstrated the firing rate. It gave the Army one more data point in terms of building confidence in ERCA ammunition handling capabilities and possibilities for the future,” said Sebasto.

Rafferty explained, “We are going to get range and lethality first and then when we are ready we’ll increase the rate-of-fire.”

Soon what was learned during this demonstration will be put into action once again with higher stakes.

“We are on the right path. The combination of the propellant magazine, the projectile magazine, and the transfer mechanism is really magical to see in action. It’s an early effort that is going to mature into a 23-round system that is going to be demonstrated late this year,” said Rafferty.

Gen. John Rafferty is pictured talking with Jered Ford during a recent visit. Ford has worked at Yuma Proving Ground for 14 years and is currently the Artillery Branch Chief. (Photo by Ana Henderson). On the background is the ХМ1299 ERCA with the new autoloader.

Via "The Outpost" newspaper