Maintaining The Marine Corps' Tank Combat Dominance in an Uncertain Future

Given the realities of the modem battlefield ranging from major contingency operations to hybrid threats. the currentfiscal restraints and the rapidly decreasing combat overmatch of the M1A1 Abrams tank compared to other tanksthroughout the world, the Marine Corps must determine its future tank acquisition strategy in the near future in order tomaintain a platform that will fulfill its roles beyond 2025. This paper presents four relevant courses of action for theMarine Corps to pursue m aquiring its next tank platform. and utilizes the history of tanks in the Marine Corps, the rolestanks have played and will play in future warfare and its current mission to compare and contrast each of these coursesof action