Abrams tank set for 'lethality' upgrade

File photo - FORT HOOD, Tx--A Sabot round is fired from an M1A2 Abrams tank during 3rd Armored Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division gunnery qualification. Such a scenario, however likely, incorporates some of the complexities now informing current Army thinking. How much can current platforms, such as the 1980s-era Abrams tank, be upgraded and maintained such that they can provide the requisite force, protection and firepower to meet such a contingency? To what extent would the Army's emerging fleet of Next-Generation Combat Vehicles be better equipped to respond? The Army's most pressing priority, senior leaders explain, is to be ready for war "now" -- "today" -- and in the immediate future.