Tactics changed and the US Abrams main battle tank became heavier and heavier, which was the reason why the US Marines abandoned all tank units
The reason for this is the reduction in the operating budget of this force in the next fiscal year 2022. And yet, the US Marines have changed their combat tactics, mainly focusing on amphibious assault tactics, capturing islands via sea, which makes lighter vehicles a priority.
Another reason is that the Abrams main battle tank is too heavy, and it will be even heavier in upcoming upgrades. Each Abrams tank weighs from 64 to a maximum of 72 tons. This is an excessive weight, making it difficult to transport in large quantities. The heavy weight of the Abrams main battle tank will make it difficult to engage in amphibious assaults from the sea.
And yet, in operations abroad – where the facilities – including roads and bridges are not good, Abrams tanks will have to be very difficult to move. The US Marines themselves, with the philosophy of speed, compactness and lightning attack, decided to completely remove Abrams tanks from the organization’s payroll.
The replacement for Abrams tanks will be air support firepower, or other types of light armored vehicles such as infantry fighting vehicles, or armored personnel carriers. The main firepower of the Abrams tank is a 120mm main gun, which actually doesn’t make too much of a difference – or inferior to the fire support from naval artillery or air force. At the moment, the US also does not have any light tanks, so the shortage of tanks in the US Marines is expected to be a long time.
Many military experts also recognize that the fact that the US Marines – a professional expeditionary force – remove main battle tanks from service, also shows that the life cycle of these combat vehicles can be is coming to an end. Accordingly, the appearance of tanks on the battlefield will soon become superfluous, because anti-tank or UAV firepower is too popular and powerful. The war between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which took place last year, is an example. There, the “cheap” drones almost dominated the game, destroying a very large number of enemy tanks.
