M1E3 Abrams and XM30 Fire Live Rounds as Army CTO Says Mass Still Matters

The U.S. Army's M1E3 Abrams pre-prototype and XM30 fighting vehicle prototypes fired live rounds on October 2, 2026, in footage shared by Army chief technology officer Alexander Miller. The M1E3 places three crew members in the hull beneath an uncrewed turret with an autoloaded 120 mm gun, while XM30 candidates are designed around an uncrewed turret and 50 mm cannon. General Dynamics Land Systems' Wolf and American Rheinmetall's Lynx-based XM30 each have eight prototypes planned for evaluation. Vehicles will reach the 1st Cavalry Division's Iron Horse brigade ahead of a spring 2027 National Training Center rotation that could inform the XM30 selection.