The defences also include a halon firefighting system that can protect the tank crew by automatically extinguishing fires within the cabin.

Its defensive systems include various Active Protection Systems designed to disrupt both wire and radio guided anti-tank missiles and homing missiles launched at it. The M1A2 Abrams boasts several innovative design features including a powerful 1500 hp engine, excellent composite armour system and a computer-based fire control system.

It is perhaps one of the most well-known tanks in the world and played a big part in various modern battlefields including the Iraq war and the war in Afghanistan. Many say that the King Tiger is the ultimate development of German tank technology, but it arrived much too late to help Germany out in the war, and whilst an impressive vehicle in many ways, it was so technologically advanced that a struggling Germany was never going to be able to change the war for Germany, no matter how good it was.The M1 Abrams is the US Army's main battle tank. The tank had a few names, but it was first brought into service in 1944 and only lasted one year, as the war was over by 1945. They already had the Tiger I, but how could they make this fearsome tank even more potent?The Henschel & Son company soon came up with the Tiger II, or King Tiger. There were also wonder weapons such as the V1 and V2 rockets, but another area Germany looked to for upgrading was in its armored division. It started to develop some rather crazy weapons and military vehicles, such as the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. As the Second World War got into its final couple of years, Germany really started to push the boundaries of what was possible in the military world.

Tiger ii next to a modern day tank