The Bradley was given the M242 25mm autocannon for its main gun and a compliment of 2 TOW anti-tank missiles. The existing M113 armored personnel carrier lacked offensive capabilities in its troop-carrier configuration and was too slow to keep up with the new M1 Abrams tank. It was mainly a response to the Soviet BMP infantry fighting vehicles which served as both armored personnel carriers and tank-killers. The M2 Bradley had a troubled development. Abrams tanks were also used in the Iraq War where they saw more close-quarters urban fighting in support of infantry house-to-house clearing operations. The other two were scuttled to prevent their capture after being damaged. Of the nine Abrams tanks destroyed during Desert Storm, seven were destroyed by friendly fire. Combined with advanced Chobham composite armor, night vision optics, and modern rangefinders, the Abrams easily outclassed the Iraqi T-55, T-62, and T-72 tanks. Originally equipped with a 105mm rifled main gun, the M1A1 tanks that took part in Desert Storm were upgraded to a 120mm smoothbore main gun that fired an armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding-sabot round. Despite being one of the heaviest tanks in modern service, its multi-fuel turbine engine can propel it to a limited top speed of 45 mph. Built to slug it out with Soviet T-72 and T-80 tanks, the Abrams entered service in 1980 to replace the M60 Patton tank. Since the Marine Corps divested its tanks in 2020, the Army is now the sole American operator of the Abrams. The M1 Abrams is to the Army what the F-15 Eagle is to the Air Force: iconic.
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