The M1 Abrams battle tank was made for one purpose and one purpose only – to strike fear into the enemies of freedom around the world, whether communists or Islamic jihadists.
Even though the 60+ ton monster named after the commander of US forces in Vietnam was designed and built in the United States, it borrows its most important features i.e. the depleted uranium cannon and virtually impenetrable composite armor from foreign tanks.
The M256 smoothbore 120mm cannon was developed by the Dusseldorf-based Rheinmetall AG of Germany and used on the Leopard 2. The composite armor was developed by the British Ministry of Defense’s tank research centre on Chobham Common, Surrey and found on the Challenger 1 and Challenger 2.
Most of the world tends to see Americans as too patriotic, but that doesn’t mean they shy away from recognizing and appropriating things that others did a good job on. This is the story with other iconic pieces of combat hardware, such as the German H&K MP5, Italian Benelli shotguns, the British Harrier jet, as well as the next item on this list.