One, the M1A3 is a real upgrade not related to the SEP package. Two, the version the Saudis got is a downgrade of the M1A2 version the US uses. and not a SEP tank the way you describe it, and definitely not the same SEP the United States uses, which has improved Depleted Uranium Armor which none of the United States export versions have.It is an upgrade to the M1A2 Abrams, I have read unconfirmed reports the the USA did not upgrade our M1A2s because budget constraints , But that Saudi Arabia was buying them ( M1A3s ),which now they have the best version of the Abrams. The Army's plan was to let them buy the and that would keep the Abrams line open and that we would buy them at a later date. AND then the Gulf War 2 happened and the Lima Ohio plant received a lot of work ,but instead of calling it the M1A3 they called it M1A2 SEP V1,V2, & V3 (V= variant ) which had improvements on it for fighting in urban areas( IRAQ). There is also a possibility that the Army Will eventually convert all of the variants to the M1A3 in the future.
It is an upgrade to the M1A2 Abrams, I have read unconfirmed reports the the USA did not upgrade our M1A2s because budget constraints , But that Saudi Arabia was buying them ( M1A3s ),which now they have the best version of the Abrams. The Army's plan was to let them buy the and that would keep the Abrams line open and that we would buy them at a later date. AND then the Gulf War 2 happened and the Lima Ohio plant received a lot of work ,but instead of calling it the M1A3 they called it M1A2 SEP V1,V2, & V3 (V= variant ) which had improvements on it for fighting in urban areas( IRAQ). There is also a possibility that the Army Will eventually convert all of the variants to the M1A3 in the future.
So the ERA will become standard?Any future abrams are going to incorperate the lessons learned and developed in TUSK so...they should be pretty nasty to deal with.
This is a early test bed version with an auto loader and armor modifications. M1A3 my borrow some of the technologies from this test bed version seen in the clip.a variant with an auto loader or increased ammunition storage space?. It kind of reminds me of the spaced armor that the germans put on there tanks during ww2
But I think the safest bet is that with the M1A3 in the works, somebody decided to bring an old CATTB prototype out of storage for whatever reason or maybe just moving it to a museum