Gaijin Entertainment published a detailed breakdown of the M1A2 SEP V3 hull on June 19, 2026, and the message was simple enough. The studio said the Abrams variant does show signs of frontal hull changes, but not on a scale that would let it brush off modern kinetic rounds. In War Thunder, the tank’s hull will still end up better protected than earlier Abrams versions.
Gaijin said it worked through the available evidence by comparing weight figures, construction details, and photos of the tank family across different variants. One of the clearest clues, according to the developer, is a new weld seam visible in the SEP V3’s frontal armor area. Earlier Abrams versions do not show that same seam, which is why the team считает it as one of the few direct signs that work was done on the hull armor package.
The weight side of the argument matters just as much. Gaijin said the SEP V3’s hull gained only a small amount of mass, with the estimated change landing at roughly 500 kilograms. That increase is partly offset by other changes on the tank, including heavier torsion bars, lighter aluminum road wheel arm brackets, reinforced mine-protection brackets, larger tow pintle hooks, and new APU armor. The studio said that kind of weight budget is not enough to support a major jump in protection against APFSDS rounds.
In the post, Gaijin argued that a real leap in frontal hull protection would need far more added mass, with no less than 2 tonnes required to make a meaningful difference against modern kinetic penetrators while keeping the same hull shape. Since that kind of weight gain is not there, the studio said any improvement is more likely aimed at HEAT threats first, with only a limited side benefit against kinetic fire.
Gaijin also said it is working on the hull and turret armor across the full Abrams family. Part of that effort includes moving some armor sections over to the volumetric model, which the studio said should help survivability around the upper hull and turret ring more than the lower plate.
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Source: Steam Community
