{"id":37703,"date":"2021-07-15T14:23:20","date_gmt":"2021-07-15T14:23:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/07\/15\/how-army-scientists-are-developing-the-next-tank-thats-not-a-tank\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:15:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:15:06","slug":"how-army-scientists-are-developing-the-next-tank-thats-not-a-tank","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2021\/07\/15\/how-army-scientists-are-developing-the-next-tank-thats-not-a-tank\/","title":{"rendered":"How Army scientists are developing the next tank that\u2019s not a tank"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though the current main battle tank, the M1 Abrams, is expected to hum along in the center of the armored formation for decades to come, some kind replacement is on its way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But rather than swapping a tank for a tank, most experts in the field are looking to a family of vehicles option that will take tank-like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2021\/04\/15\/the-army-wants-an-anti-tank-missile-that-shoots-twice-as-far-as-its-current-weapon\/\" target=\"_blank\">capabilities<\/a> and spread them across crewed and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2021\/04\/25\/army-wants-robots-sensors-to-make-infantry-platoons-10-times-better\/\" target=\"_blank\">crewless platforms<\/a> for better survivability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf you think of a tank, you\u2019re thinking in the wrong direction. Think of what a tank provides,\u201d Jeff Zabinski, the Army Research Lab\u2019s director of weapons and material research, told Army Times. \u201cWe can\u2019t just think in terms of, \u2018oh, I\u2019m just going to put a chunk of armor out there.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2021\/06\/02\/cockroaches-trains-and-tanks-help-army-scientists-build-better-legged-robots\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ARL-legged-robot.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Cockroaches, trains and tanks help Army scientists build better legged robots<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Recent research shows legged robots can be as efficient as tracked or wheeled versions.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Army is doing more than simply upgrading existing vehicles and fueling the next steps in ground fighting over the coming decade. Scientists at ARL such as Zabinski and Dr. Scott Schoenfeld, senior scientist for terminal ballistics, are envisioning how to do the work of armor without armor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The key to that is distributing the functions of a tank, from sensing and firepower to protection. Some of that does still involve heavy metal moving around the battlefield \u2014 sometimes with a crew; sometimes without. But protection can also mean not being seen, or even being seen as something else. That\u2019s where electronic warfare, masking and hiding in plain sight of sensors can play a role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cArmament can be totally different than what we were [historically] constrained with,\u201d Zabinski said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"988\" height=\"609\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/soldiers-RCV.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-29626\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/soldiers-RCV.jpg.jpg 988w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/soldiers-RCV.jpg.jpg?resize=300,185 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/soldiers-RCV.jpg.jpg?resize=768,473 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 988px) 100vw, 988px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Soldiers at Fort Benning, Georgia, work with a Project Origin experimental Robotic Combat Vehicle during a Soldier Touchpoint in November, 2020. (Army)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Armor went from monolithic steel to spaced plates and then explosive-driven plates to respond to advancing, anti-armor threats, Zabinski said. Armor also moved from strong metals to ceramics or composite materials that are lighter and designed to absorb impact differently at the molecular level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More powerful computers and algorithms are helping scientists at ARL and elsewhere factor in massive numbers of interactions that can be used to \u201cbend, break and destroy penetrators on contact,\u201d hitting the projectile before it ever reaches an Army vehicle, Zabinski said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And with advances in autonomy and remote controlling, new approaches are now possible that were previously not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf there is no human in proximity to the weapon, we can develop much higher performance once humans are stood off,\u201d Schoenfeld said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Space onboard, now designed for humans, can be shrunk or gotten rid of, making smaller machines that can do similar or new tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And rather than simply taking a hit to heavy armor and surviving, the future of armor\u2019s function and protection could be pushing, deflecting, coaxing or turning an adversary\u2019s attack rather than absorbing it, Schoenfeld said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Regardless of the defense, some strikes will get through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s where \u201cintelligent, sacrificial robots\u201d can put themselves between humans and harm, Schoenfeld said. That\u2019s in a scenario where humans are still on the battlefield, likely in a tank-like vehicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThese platforms are still made of material that will encounter bullets and bombs but made of material enough that the robots are damaged without residual harm to humans,\u201d Schoenfeld said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/RCVCARSONDEMOM113.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-43518\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/RCVCARSONDEMOM113.jpg.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/RCVCARSONDEMOM113.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/RCVCARSONDEMOM113.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/RCVCARSONDEMOM113.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/RCVCARSONDEMOM113.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Mission Enabling Technologies \u2013 Demonstrator (MET-D, rear) and two Robotic Combat Vehicles (RCVs) maneuver through a Fort Carson, Colorado training area in early July at the control of Soldiers from 4th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. The MET-Ds and RCVs the Soldiers used were surrogate platforms built using existing Army vehicles for the sake of expedience and cost-saving, but as development continues, vehicle platforms will change. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Army)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But those cannot necessarily be one-and-done bots. They may still need to function after being hit, because even expendable platforms cost money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those same future robots can be made with cutting edge materials being researched now that can either \u201cdegrade gracefully\u201d or \u201cself-heal,\u201d Schoenfeld said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThink about the fact that body armor does not just stop a bullet but must do so with limited deformation and limited mortality for the human in the rear,\u201d Schoenfeld said. \u201cIf that material could stretch without limit, the armor would be much lighter and much more flexible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some future robot armor could even have materials that allow bullets to pass through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Schoenfeld painted a picture: imagine a robot that looks like the coronavirus, a central ball or sphere with many \u201carms\u201d protruding from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Say this robot could both roll and crawl around the terrain. If it takes a hit, the arms might be made of materials built to deflect those strikes from the center, where the valuable components that control, communicate or explode, reside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All of these advances may not look like the diesel-driven behemoths of the battlefield today, but at their core, they\u2019ll do what armor has always done \u2014 protect soldiers while delivering firepower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt may not look like the \u2018heavy\u2019 armor on a tank, but it will be armor nonetheless,\u201d Schoenfeld said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The concepts researched today build the platforms of tomorrow&#8217;s 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By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How Army scientists are developing the next tank that\u2019s not a tank - Army Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The concepts researched today build the platforms of tomorrow&#039;s war.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Army scientists are developing the next tank that\u2019s not a tank\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The concepts researched today build the platforms of tomorrow&#039;s war.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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