Gunner, canister, troops!

"Gunner, canister, troops!" No Abrams tank commander has ever given that fire command until now. The M1028 canister is going to Iraq. Almost simultaneously, the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps approved plans to accelerate fielding of this newest 120mm tank round, which is long overdue, to support Abrams crewmen in Iraq.

U.S. Forces Korea first requested the round in December 1999. The canister requirement was to defeat dismounted soldiers carrying lightweight rocket-assisted grenades or other handheld antitank weapons. It took several years to get funding, but in the end, the Department of the Army authorized a two-year research and development effort beginning in late 2002. U.S. Army engineer designs, from the Armaments Developmental Engineering Center, Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey, were shared with General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems after the Product Manager for Large Caliber Ammunition competed the concept worldwide.

Today, that excellent work has paid off with a devastating antipersonnel round, designed to engage massed formations of dismounted "threats," exactly as observed in several key battles in Iraq. The round operates similar to a shotgun, in that it expels nearly 1,100 tungsten balls at the muzzle. The comparison ends there--these balls are 3/8 of an inch in diameter and travel at velocities in excess of 1,400 meters per second. A ball that massive and fast can have devastating effects on buildings, sport utility vehicles, and other objects when fired at close range in urban operations. For the combined operations commander, it is like having 1,100 soldiers simultaneously fire their M16s, without fire distribution issues, from behind the protection of 70 tons of armor! This is truly a shock-effect weapon.

But the canister is not new to the Army; it has been used effectively in nearly all wars in which the United States has been involved, with the exception of Operation Desert Storm. Remember Picketts Charge at Gettysburg and how effective the canister was at stopping the assault?

There is some concern that the canister might be too devastating in an urban operation: in fact, the opposite is true. In comparison to high-explosive or depleted uranium ammunition fired from an Abrams, the canister has a shorter effective firing range. Even the loader's and tank commander's machine guns have greater killing range. This is due to the unique ballistic characteristics of a ball versus those of a bullet. The advantages of the canister are realized when used at close range and against concentrations of massed threats that cannot be quickly engaged with the tank's machine guns.

As the Product Manager for Large Caliber Ammunition accelerates production to meet the needs of Abrams crewmen worldwide, the U.S. Army Armor Center is working to develop tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTP) and special text training material to support the warfighter in the Global War on Terror!

Major Benjamin Harris is currently the assistant Training and Doctrine Command System Manager for Abrams, U.S. Army Armor Center, Fort Knox, KY. He received a B.S. from the U.S. Military Academy and a M.S. from Central Michigan University. His military education includes Airborne School, Armor Officer Basic Course, Armor Officer Advanced Course, and resident U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. He has served in various command and staff positions to include, assistant product manager for large caliber (Abrams) ammunition, Picatinny Arsenal, NJ; administrative contracting officer, Lima Army Tank Plant, Lima, OH; combined arms team armor advisor, 42d Army National Guard, Fort Dix, NJ; commander, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 70th Armor, 194th Separate Infantry Brigade, Fort Knox, KY; and scout platoon leader, D Troop, 4th Cavalry, 197th Separate Infantry Brigade, Fort Benning, GA.

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