Military Infotainment

Video Credit:  Out Of Your Mind The M1 Abrams main battle tank has been the mainstay of the U.S. Army’s armor branch for more than thirty years. Heavily armored, powered by a gas turbine engine and equipped with a powerful 120-millimeter gun, the M1 has proven an adaptable tank capable of fighting from the rolling hills of southern Germany to the deserts of Iraq. The latest Abrams variant is an upgrade package, the M1A2 SEP V3. Many of its features are practical rather than sexy: upgraded computers, and a new Auxiliary Power Unit that allows the Abrams to keep its sophisticated systems running while the engine is off, improving the fuel efficiency of the Abram’s notoriously thirsty turbine engines. Maintainability is improved with modular, replaceable cabling.

Video Credit:  Out Of Your Mind Self-sealing, crash-capable fuel tanks were chosen to limit the threat posed by small-arms fire or hard landings. The tail rotor blades incorporated into the new design were made of ballistically resilient materials to minimize the chance of a tail hit, which would compromise control of the rotorcraft. The main rotors saw a similar treatment, and an armored cockpit was added as the helicopter began to take shape. Redundant systems were worked into the designs of the flight controls, hydraulics, and electrical system to increase the craft’s ability to remain airborne after taking fire. In order to support all that weight, the UH-60 leveraged two engines and a four-blade propeller, which offered a cruising speed of over 100 mph and the ability to lift as much as 8,000 pounds with 1,000 pounds slung underneath. The Black Hawk was also  designed  to be broken down and transported in heavy-lift aircraft like the C-130, allowing it to be depl...