tank engineer military vehicle engineering

It first saw action in 2009 in Afghanistan, before formally entering service in 2010.

The ABV, often known simply as ‘The Breacher’ finally finished its development in 2008. Between 20, six vehicles, prototypes and pre-production models, were built for testing. The US Marine Corps persisted though, funding the development of the ABV themselves. As such, the ‘Grizzly’ Program was canceled in 2001 with just one prototype completed. The US Army, however, decided to halt all development of costly, complicated and maintenance heavy CEVs.

In the late 1990s, the US Military were working on an Abrams-based CEV to replace the M728. The ABV was developed to meet the United States Marine Corps (USMC) requirement for a new CEV that could clear safe routes for traffic and infantry through minefields, obstacles, roadside bombs, and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). The ABV is the first of such vehicles to see service with the US military since the M60 based M728 CEV was retired from service in the mid-to-late 1990s, and this vehicle’s direct predecessor, the remotely operated M1 Abrams-based M1 Panther II, was retired from service in the late 2000s. CEVs were a concept made famous by the British in the Second World War with the AVRE (Armored Vehicle Royal Engineers), and since then, similar vehicles have been a part of every major army. It is built on the hull of the US Military’s currently serving Main Battle Tank (MBT), the M1 Abrams.

The Assault Breacher Vehicle or ‘ABV’ is (as of 2018) the United States’ latest Combat Engineering Vehicle or ‘CEV’.

Combat Engineer Vehicle – Estimated 239 Built

Tank engineer military vehicle engineering