M1074 Joint Assault Bridge
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The M1074 Joint Assault Bridge System (JAB, JABS) is an American armored
military engineering vehicle A military engineering vehicle is a vehicle built for construction work or for the transportation of combat engineering, combat engineers on the battlefield. These vehicles may be modified civilian equipment (such as the Armored bulldozer, armo ...
based on the Abrams M1A1 main battle tank chassis.
ASA(ALT) The Office of the United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology (ASA(ALT) pronounced ''A-salt'') is known as OASA(ALT). OASA(ALT) serves, when delegated, as the army acquisition executive, the senior pr ...
br>Weapon Systems Handbook 2018
Page 32 lists how this handbook is organized. 440 pages. *By Modernization priority *By Acquisition or Business System category (ACAT or BSC). The Weapon systems in each ACAT are sorted alphabetically by Weapon system name. Each weapon system might also be in several variants (Lettered); a weapon system's variants might be severally and simultaneously in the following phases of its Life Cycle, namely — °Materiel Solution Analysis; °Technology Maturation & Risk Reduction; °Engineering & Manufacturing Development; °Production & Deployment; °Operations & Support *ACAT I, II, III, IV are defined on page 404
The M1074 was designed by
Leonardo DRS Leonardo DRS, formerly DRS Technologies, Inc., is a US-based defense contractor. Previously traded on the NYSE, the company was purchased by the Italian firm Finmeccanica (now Leonardo) in October 2008. History Diagnostic/Retrieval Systems, Inc ...
for the U.S. Army and Marine Corps to provide deployable bridge capability for units engaged in military operations. The bridge is an
armored vehicle-launched bridge Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat ...
(AVLB) Military Load Class 95 Scissor Bridge (MLC95) is currently being replaced with the Heavy Assault Scissor Bridge (HASB) MLC 115. After the M1074 has deployed the bridge, assault force vehicles can cross over the bridge. The M1074 can cross over, pick up the bridge on the far bank and continue along in support of assault forces.


Development

The JABS was conceived as a compromise between the M104 Wolverine that was deemed too expensive to operate and the aging
M60 Patton The M60 is an American List of main battle tanks by generation#Second, second-generation main battle tank (MBT). It was officially standardized as the Tank, Combat, Full Tracked: 105-mm Gun, M60 in March 1959. Although developed from the M48 Pa ...
-based
M60 AVLB The M60 armored vehicle launched bridge (AVLB) is an armored vehicle based on the M60 Patton main battle tank's hull and used for the launching and retrieval of a scissors-type bridge. The AVLB consists of three major sections: the launcher, the ...
which could not adequately support the Abrams and
Bradley Bradley may refer to: People * Bradley (given name) * Bradley (surname) Places In the United Kingdom In England: * Bradley, Cheshire * Bradley, Derbyshire * Bradley (house), a manor in Kingsteignton, Devon * Bradley, Gloucestershire * ...
vehicles. The vehicle provides the Army Mobility Augmentation Companies supporting Armored Brigade Combat Teams with a survivable, deployable and sustainable heavy-assault-bridging capability. Prototype development began in May 2012 when the U.S. Army Contracting Command awarded
General Dynamics Land Systems General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) is an American manufacturer of military vehicles, including tanks and light Armoured fighting vehicle, armored fighting vehicles. The company is based in Sterling Heights, Michigan, and is a subsidiary of Gen ...
and
Leonardo DRS Leonardo DRS, formerly DRS Technologies, Inc., is a US-based defense contractor. Previously traded on the NYSE, the company was purchased by the Italian firm Finmeccanica (now Leonardo) in October 2008. History Diagnostic/Retrieval Systems, Inc ...
a $26 million contract to build two Joint Assault Bridge System (JABS) prototypes. The contract supported the engineering and manufacturing development phase, with the GDLS prototype being built in
Sterling Heights, Michigan Sterling Heights is a city in Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northern suburb of Detroit, Sterling Heights is located roughly north of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 134,346, placing Sterl ...
and the Leonardo prototype built in
West Plains, Missouri West Plains is a List of cities in Missouri, city in and the County seat#United States, county seat of Howell County, Missouri, Howell County, Missouri, United States. The population was 12,184 at the 2020 census. History The history of West Pl ...
. The Army wanted the winner of the contract to include Anniston Army Depot (ANAD)'s organic industrial base experience in the JAB's production. The XM1074 JABS prototypes were ready in 2014. They were delivered to ANAD where they underwent testing and evaluation through 2016 with the Leonardo prototype being accepted as the M1074 in August. Leonardo DRS has a public-private partnership with ANAD in Alabama to manage the M1 chassis assemblyMrs. Jennifer Bacchus (AMC) (April 4, 2019) Spanning the gap for our troops
/ref> and worked with
Israeli Military Industries IMI Systems, previously Israel Military Industries, also referred to as Ta'as (), was an Israeli weapons manufacturer. The company manufactured weapons, munitions and military technology mainly for the Israeli security forces (especially Israel' ...
(IMI) on the design and engineering of the bridge system, according to a DRS statement. On August 23, 2016, DRS Technologies, Inc., announced that the U.S. Army had awarded it an indefinite quantity contract worth up to $400 million to build the new JABS. The Army has placed an initial order for 168 vehicles and the Marines for 29. As of 2020, the status of the USMC's order was unclear as the service was divesting its AVLBs as part of
Force Design 2030 Force Design 2030, also known as FD2030, is an ongoing force restructuring plan by the United States Marine Corps to reshape its combat power for future near-peer adversary conflicts that was introduced in March 2020 by the Commandant of the Marin ...
. The JAB completed its low-rate production phase from 2016 to 2018 with a total of 51 vehicles. ANAD produced 10 in fiscal year 2016, 14 in 2017 and an additional 27 in 2018. These first JABSs underwent exploitation and fire survivability testing at the Aberdeen Test Center. These tests finalized the current configuration for full-rate production and evaluated some configuration changes in the design for crew protection. United States Army Operational Test Command,
Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Established in 1848, the fort was renamed in 1854 to honor William Wallace Smith Bliss, Bvt.Lieut.Colonel William W.S. Bliss (1815–1853 ...
began conducting operational testing in April 2019, with the 40th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat team, 1st Armored Division. Full-rate production is scheduled to start in 2021 and expected to be completed by May 2030 with a program of record of 297 for the US Army. The M1074 JAB will fully replace the M60 AVLB and M104 Wolverine on a one-for-one basis in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
and
Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG) is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Army. It is simultaneously part of two differen ...
. The
Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...
is planning to purchase 18 M1074s, with the US Government granting approval for this in April 2021. Poland signed an agreement with Washington in April 2022 to acquire 17 JABS.


Description

The M1074 Joint Assault Bridge System (JABS) is based on the hull of the M1A1 version of the
M1 Abrams The M1 Abrams () is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern armored ground warfare, it is one of the heavies ...
main battle tank using the suspension system from the M1A2 and upgraded with the Total InteGrated Engine Revitalization (TIGER). This is projected to lower maintenance costs as well as increased availability and unit readiness with commonality of parts with the Abrams chassis. The unit has a new hydraulic bridge launcher system as well as Embedded Diagnostics (ED). Survivability is enhanced with components of the Tank Urban Survivability Kit (TUSK) including Abrams
Reactive Armor Reactive armour is a type of vehicle armour used in protecting vehicles, especially modern tanks, against shaped charges and hardened kinetic energy penetrators. The most common type is ''explosive reactive armour'' (ERA), but variants includ ...
Tile (ARAT1), Rear Viewer Sensor System (RVSS) and Tank-Infantry Phone (TIP). Additionally it can employ the AUTOFLUG Driver's Seat and Abrams Lightweight Underbody Kit for situational use. The vehicle itself is unarmed; however, the crewmembers are typically armed with assault rifles (
M16 The M16 (officially Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of assault rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-round magazine. In 1964, th ...
or M4), pistols, flares, and/or colored smoke grenades. The Bridge Launcher Mechanism (BLM) was designed by Israeli Military Industries in conjunction with Leonardo DRS. The bridging controls are a basic push-button system, similar to the M104 Wolverine, while the computer assembles the bridge and deploys it. The bridge extends its span vertically instead of horizontally as the M104 Wolverine. It can deploy an MLC115 (Caution 120) Heavy Assault Scissor Bridge (HASB) with a gap crossing of 18.3 m in approximately 3 minutes.


Operators


Current operators

* **
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
- 120 as of January 2025 **
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...


Future operators

*: 18xM1074 joint assault bridges. *: 25xM1110 joint assault bridges. *: 4xM1110 joint assault bridges. * : 8xM1110 Joint Assault Bridges.


See also

* M104 Wolverine *
M60 AVLB The M60 armored vehicle launched bridge (AVLB) is an armored vehicle based on the M60 Patton main battle tank's hull and used for the launching and retrieval of a scissors-type bridge. The AVLB consists of three major sections: the launcher, the ...


References


Sources

* {{cite book , last1=Zaloga , first1=Steve , authorlink=Steven Zaloga , last2=Sarson , first2=Peter , year=1993 , title=M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank 1982–1992 , series=New Vanguard (Book 2) , location=Oxford, UK , publisher=
Osprey Publishing Osprey Publishing is a British publishing company specializing in military history formerly based in Oxford. Predominantly an illustrated publisher, many of their books contain full-colour artwork plates, maps and photographs, and the company p ...
, isbn=1-85532-283-8 Armoured vehicle-launched bridges Post–Cold War armored fighting vehicles of the United States General Dynamics land vehicles Military vehicles introduced in the 2010s