I had a discussion with someone who was there during the trials and what he told me was that Abrams were M1 configuration and it had 105mm Gun not the 120mm of M1 A1, hence the firing results were not upto the mark. Secondly the engine at that time was a problem , the gas turbine of the era was unable to go the distance in the soft desert. Thirdly, it was a very heavy tank and our infrastructure of the time was unable to handle such a heavy tank.......
From history it has always been proven US always provides us stuff which is a level behind.... For example when we were inducting f16 block 15 world already saw C/D models coming out........
Thanks for your valuable insight. Now
that makes sense.
I learned from a source that a Pakistani military delegation visited US in 1987 to evaluate M1
A1 Abrams MBT and its performance
stunned our delegation. This is why Pakistani military expressed its interest in inducting this MBT and a unit was dispatched to Pakistan for trials in Bahawalpur* but Zia-ul-Haq (and his team) perished in an unfortunate event soon after and the ensuing political crises led to cancellation of the deal.
*Yes, it is rare for the US to provide us the
real thing. Your disclosure suggest that Americans dispatched a noticeably inferior (watered-down) unit for trials in Pakistan. However, outcome of this trial has created a
false impression in Pakistan that M1A1 Abrams MBT is trash and this belief is utterly misplaced and "dangerous." People are lacking in knowledge about the specifications of the unit that was tested in Pakistan and the vastly superior American designs.
Iraq learned its lesson the hard way in 1991 but it was not in the position to do anything about it. In-fact, performance of US army in this war stunned the entire world including USSR and China. Consequently, Russia embraced the notion of hybrid warfare and China initiated a major modernization drive of its armed forces.
Arabian deserts have sand that is thin and soft like talcum powder (I have seen them in person). This kind of sand easily creeps into sensitive parts of any vehicle and can ruin it. Therefore, it is not wise to drive through Arabian deserts without appropriate measures. In order to utilize M1A1 in this kind of environment, engine of every unit was outfitted with a high quality air filter to prevent "sand ingestion," and problem addressed. At present, both M1A1 and M1A2 variants are outfitted with high quality (self-cleaning) air filters for operations in desert environments across the world.
As far as the accuracy factor is concerned, one needs to examine onboard systems of an M1A1 and Type-59 MBT; difference is like between day and night.
A glimpse of Type-59 MBT from inside:
Glimpses of M1A1 Abrams from inside:
Specifications of M1A1 Abrams in 1985:-
- 120 mm main gun (M256 Smooth Bore cannon)
- Nuclear, biological, and chemical overpressure system
- Advanced Chobham armor
- Advanced suspension (torsion bars with rotary shock absorbers)
- Hydraulically stabilized turret/gun system
- Digital ballistic computer
- Laser range finder (LRF)
- Thermal imaging night sight (TIS)
- Onboard malfunction detection system
- Compartmented fuel/ammunition
- Single channel ground/air radio system (SINGCARS)
You can learn a great deal about M1A1 from this book:
https://ospreypublishing.com/m1-abrams-vs-t-72-ural
Thermal imaging capability of M1A1 in 2013:
More importantly, M1 Abrams is a continuously evolving platform.
The latest prototype is known as
M1A2 SEP V3. Although much of the information about this variant is classified at the moment, I learned a few tidbits and they suggest a cutting-edge machine. Structure is similar to the older M1A1 but virtually everything onboard is revolutionary. This variant might also receive a new generation of ammunition to defeat emerging threats.
Every mounted gun of M1A2 SEP V3 can be controlled from inside when not manned.
German Leopard-II MBT is also becoming cutting-edge.
Another thing is that no matter how advanced a weapon system is, adequate training is a must. Crew must learn how to take advantage of the capabilities of a weapon system.
For example, the (famous)
Battle of 73 Easting took place during sandstorm conditions:
By contrast, U.S. troops fought extremely well. At 73 Easting, for example, the 2nd ACR maintained a tight, efficient combat formation throughout an extended approach march, and did so in the midst of a sandstorm, in hostile territory, over unfamiliar terrain, and without significant losses to mechanical breakdown or logistical failure en route. Its crews' gunnery was exceptional, outperforming peacetime proving ground standards for both the M1 and the Bradley. The first three kills by Eagle troop were recorded in three shots by a single M1 over an interval of less than ten seconds. As a whole, 182 of 215, or 85 percent, of the shots fired by 2nd ACR crews struck their targets at ranges of up to 2000 meters, under combat conditions.(76) Similar results were obtained by U.S. forces throughout the KTO.
Source:
Victory Misunderstood: What the Gulf War Tells Us About the Future of Conflict - The RMA Debate
American tanks are working in information battlefield, very strong battlefield situational awareness capability. Even Other country has M1A1 or M1A2, they can't make a full-fledge use of it cause the surrounding here is missing.
Yes, this is also a factor. Good point.
I assure you that I have nothing against MBT designs of Russia, Ukraine and China. They are good in their own right and suit our needs.
M1A1 Abrams MBT absolutely outgunned Russian (T-72 and T-62) and Chinese (Type-69, Type-59 and Type-55) MBT in the Persian Gulf War (1991) but this does not imply that Russian and Chinese MBT were/are bad; rather M1A1 was relatively superior in capabilities and safety measures to its contemporaries.
My point is that it is important for people to do their homework and look at the bigger picture.
