Is a Turretless Tank a Viable Option for the United States Army?

This study is an examination of four areas, historical U.S. tank development, U.S. national military strategy, Army doctrine, and technical design considerations, that have had an impact on the design of U.S. Army tanks. The aim of this study is to identify the influences each of the aforementioned categories have had on the design of U.S. Army tanks, the implications these offer for the design of future tanks and from these ascertain the viability of a turretless tank as a developmental option for the U.S. Army. The impacts of U.S. tank design were gleaned from historical writings on the development of U.S. tanks, a large body of literature on tank technical design considerations, official U.S. government statements of the national military strategy and Army doctrinal warfighting manuals. Analysis by the author of the above impacts were considered in the context of the current national and international situations. This study concludes that a turretless tank is a viable option for the Army to pursue. A turretless tank provides significant potential benefit in the reduction of tank cost and weight. Additionally, reduced size leads to improved survivability. The Army's challenge is to continue to defend global U.S. interests in an era of reduced military spending. Development and fielding of a turretless tank is one of the ways the Army can meet this challenge.