The U.S. Military's Abrams Tank Is Going Hybrid

The U.S. Military's Abrams Tank Is Going Hybrid

contact@insideevs.com (Iulian Dnistran)

Mon, January 19, 2026 at 5:00 PM UTC

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The first M1E3 Abrams tank prototype was unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show, promising a 50% bump in efficiency.

The legendary Abrams tank is getting a hybrid version.
Designed by the U.S. Army and built by Roush, the diesel-hybrid M1E3 Abrams tank is lighter and more efficient.
It can be deployed quickly in any part of the world, where it can also be easily serviced.

The Abrams tank is widely regarded as the best of its kind, but it’s getting a bit long in the tooth, so the United States Army is trying to breathe new life into the aging war machine.

This is the M1E3 Abrams, a state-of-the-art tank that uses the latest and greatest in terms of technology, which includes–gasp–a hybrid powertrain. The first early prototype of the hybridized Abrams debuted at the Detroit Auto Show last week, where U.S. Army officials claimed some impressive efficiency gains and a serious weight reduction over the outgoing M1 Abrams.

But first, let me address the elephant in the room. Gone is Honeywell’s 1,500-horsepower turbine engine, and in its place is a Caterpillar C13D diesel engine that can easily be serviced everywhere in the world. If something went wrong with the old Abrams’ engine, it had to be shipped to a big army base to be serviced, but the Caterpillar engine in the M1E3, which makes 690 horsepower in stock form, is widely used in industrial and heavy machinery around the world, so spare parts are much easier to find.

The Allison Transmission is also out of the picture, with the Army going for a hybridized SAPA transmission that integrates an electric drive unit. It can use the combustion engine and the electric motor at the same time or separately, allowing the three-man crew to sit silently in sensible areas while also having everything powered on.

Alex Miller, the U.S. Army’s chief technology officer, told The Fast Lane Truck that the M1E3 Abrams is about 20% to 30% lighter than the outgoing model. This, coupled with the hybrid powertrain, leads to a massive improvement in fuel efficiency of up to 50%. The classic Abrams can tip the scales at over 80 tons when fully loaded, while the M1E3 hybrid will weigh no more than 60 tons–at least, that’s what the Army is targeting.

The new Abrams is also more tech-heavy than ever before. Its systems run on a custom-made software architecture that enables the Army to integrate all the latest and greatest systems. This includes microphones that can pick up drones from afar, and a 360-degree camera system.

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The tank was designed to be driven with a yoke-style wheel that has multiple buttons, which can be mapped just like on a PlayStation controller, depending on what accessories are mounted on the vehicle.

It’s all pretty cool, but it’s worth mentioning that the M1E3 is still in its prototype phase. Miller said that the Army is still looking at what type of high-voltage battery could be integrated, and that it is looking at both conventional lithium-ion and lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) chemistries. The prototype drives, and it can shoot, but it has yet to go through the certification process–that’s expected to start this month.

The Marine Corps is also looking to replace its fleet of aging Oshkosh MTVRs with new, more efficient hybrid trucks. The Oshkosh-made trucks went into service in 2001, but two companies, Mack and ND Defense, are in the running to create a modern replacement.

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