Tank Urban Survival Kit

Definition/Scope: The Tank Urban Survival Kit (TUSK) is a series of improvements to the M1 Abrams intended to improve fighting ability in urban environments. Historically, urban and other close battlefields have been the worst place for tanks to fight - a tank’s front armor is much stronger than that on the sides, top, or rear, and in an urban environment, attacks can come from any direction, and attackers can get close enough to reliably hit weak points in the tank’s armor, or get sufficient elevation to hit the top armor square on. Armor upgrades include reactive armor on the sides of the tank and slat armor (similar to that on the Stryker) on the rear to protect against rocket-propelled grenades and other shaped charge warheads. A Transparent Armor Gun Shield and a thermal sight system are added to the loader’s top-mounted M240B 7.62 mm machine gun, and a Kongsberg Gruppen Remote Weapon Turret carrying a .50 caliber machine gun (again similar to that used on the Stryker) is in place of the tank commander’s original .50 caliber machine gun mount, wherein the commander had to expose himself to fire the weapon manually. An exterior telephone allows supporting infantry to communicate with the tank commander. The TUSK system is a field-installable kit that allows tanks to be upgraded without needing to be recalled to a maintenance depot.

Acronym:

TUSK

Broader Terms:

M1 Abrams

Related Terms:

Abrams tank
reactive armor
Rocket Propelled Grenade
safety
tank (combat vehicle)