During the 1980s, the US Army initiated a program to replace the M551 Sheridan tank. After several attempts to get the procurement underway, the Army finally initiated the Armoured Gun System (AGS) program in 1992. Like the M551, the AGS was to be a light tank that was air transportable to support the mobile forces. FMC/United Defence won the program and produced six prototypes designated XM8 and after evaluation, the M8 was slated to enter production in 1996. Unfortunately, the M8 program was terminated a year later as the Army was redirecting resources to cover other problematic procurements that would also end up cancelled or severely curtailed. While the completed M8s were stored at the contractor's facilities, they unsuccessfully offered the M8 to Turkey and Taiwan. The M8 was to carry a crew of three, similar to Soviet/Russian tanks - commander, gunner, and driver. The M8 was armed with the XM35 105mm cannon which used a new design to radically reduce recoil and create a simpler, lighter main gun equipped with an auto-loading system which eliminated the fourth crewmember. While the XM35 had lower recoil forces, it still fired all of the rounds that were common to the M60 and early M1 Abrams tanks. In 2003, an updated design designated M8 Thunderbolt/AGS 120 paired up the M8 with a smoothbore 120mm gun that also was equipped with an autoloader. The US Army is currently looking at a new program called Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) in which an updated M8 could be produced.
Assembly required
Paint and glue not included
SKU PAN-35039
Brand Panda Hobby

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