New Army technology fast-tracks damaged tanks back to combat

M1A2 Abrams Tanks from A Company, 2-116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team (CBCT), Idaho Army National Guard run through field exercises on Orchard Combat Training Center - file photo. Should U.S. forces be facing a massive armored enemy ground vehicle assault, they would need their own heavily armored vehicles -- such as infantry carriers, ground forces, unmanned attack vehicles and, perhaps of greatest significance, Abrams tanks. Large numbers of heavily armed, integrated and ready Abrams tanks would be needed for any kind of major ground offensive and "ready for war." Achieving this is not always as easy as it may sound; Abrams tanks are complex war machines that rely upon a wide range of properly functioning systems and technologies, including ammunition, mounted weapons, armor, sensors and electronics. Abrams parts often need to be repaired, upgraded and effectively maintained.