No matter if you are in the Army or simply love heavy machinery, you are sure to have an interest in the tracked vehicles that are used by professionally trained personnel on a regular basis.
Do you have the desire to operate or work on tracked vehicles? You will not have the opportunity unless you join the Army. If you decide to enlist, you can follow a career path that will put you in position to get involved with tracked vehicles as well as many other types of weapons systems.
Four Tracked Vehicles used by the Army
Below are details of the tracked vehicles currently in use.
Abrams Tank
This is by far one of the most well known tracked vehicles used by the U.S. Army. It entered service in 1980 and has been going strong ever since. Of course, changes have been made along the way to ensure that this tank gets the job done ? time and time again.
The mission of the Abrams tank is simple: to provide heavy armor capabilities on the battlefield.
With a good combination of firepower and mobility, the Abrams tank can overpower enemies while efficiently make its way from point A to point B.
There are three variations of this tank including: M1, M1A1, and M1A2.
Bradley Tank
Since entering Army service in 1981, the Bradley tank has been providing transportation to infantry squads with a high level of efficiency and safety. Along with its ability to effectively move soldiers, this tank can also defeat enemies, perform scouting missions, and act as a fighting vehicle.
There are two versions of the Bradley tank: M3 Calvary and M2 Infantry.
M88A2 HERCULES
The M88A2 HERCULES is one of the newest tanks to serve the U.S. Army. Along with this distinction, it is not a traditional ?fighting? vehicle. Instead, it is used as an evacuation tank as well as a heavy equipment recovery lift.
This tank supports battlefield evacuation and recovery with the ability to tow, winch or hoist heavy machinery. For a better idea of the power offered by the M88A2 HERCULES, it has a winch capacity of 70 tons.
M113 Vehicles
For more than 40 years, the M113 class of vehicles has been used by the U.S. Army as well as many foreign armies.
The vehicles that make up this class include: M548A1/A3 Cargo Carrier, M577A2/A3 Command Post Carrier, M901A1 Improved TOW Vehicle, M981 Fire Support Team Vehicle, M1059/A3 Smoke Generator Carrier, M1064/A3 Mortar Carrier, M1068/A3 Standard Integrated Command Post System Carrier, Mechanized Smoke Obscurant System, and OPFOR Surrogate Vehicle (OSV).
The U.S. Army utilizes a variety of tracked vehicles, all meant to complete specific tasks on the battlefield and in other settings.