This U.S. Tank Is So Good, It's Been In Service Over 60 Years

In the late-1950s, the Soviet Union was found to be developing a new medium tank —  the T-54 — with a 100-millimeter gun, which was superior to anything in the American arsenal. Cue the M60 — a significant redesign of the lighter-duty M48 tank — nicknamed the Patton. The M60 was a staple of the U.S. military for decades and is still in use around the globe.

To best the Soviets, the M60 featured a 105-millimeter (the diameter of the projectile) main gun with 63 rounds of ammunition. There's also a 7.62-millimeter machine gun onboard and it is capable of generating a smokescreen. The M60 can travel in water up to four feet deep, which increases to more than seven feet deep when a special kit is installed. 

Its manufacturing period took place in the middle of the Vietnam War but in reality, the M60 saw very limited use in that conflict because Vietnam's sodden terrain hampered the effectiveness of the 50-ton tank. The smaller M48 was the U.S. tank of choice for Vietnam and many of the M60s were instead deployed to Europe as a precaution in case the Cold War erupted into World War III.

After many years of fairly light combat duty — at least in the employ of the United States' armed forces — the M60 finally experienced the heat of battle in Kuwait as part of Operation Desert Storm in 1991. The engagement was highly successful, with roughly 100 Iraqi tanks destroyed. However, some detractors attribute the victory to the Iraqi troops' lack of training more so than the superiority of the U.S. equipment.

By 1997, the M60 design was nearing 40 years old, prompting a phased retirement in favor of a new tank, the M1 Abrams. During its heyday, the M60's manufacturer, General Dynamics Land Systems Division, managed to produce approximately 15,000 units. 

Though retired from U.S. military service, over 5,000 examples of the M60 remain in service to the armies of nearly 20 different countries including Egypt, Turkey, Taiwan, and Thailand. As such, an opportunity exists to upgrade and modernized these weapons. Defense company Raytheon helped with its Service-Life Extension Package (SLEP) that includes a new engine with a 200 horsepower upgrade, a digital targeting system, and a larger 120-millimeter gun from the current Abrams tank.

A company called Israel Military Industries also manufactured upgrades for the M60, which the company calls the Sabra. Similar to the SLEP package, Sabra also has a more powerful engine and 120-millimeter gun. Unlike the SLEP package, Sabra is available with additional armor plating, which gives the tank's turret — long criticized for being tall and thereby, an easy target — a better, angular shape. 

While fortifications are helpful, the shell remains below modern protective standards. Yet still, the M60 remains popular with foreign armies — one might theorize because of cost. The fact that the M60 remains viable at any level in modern warfare is a testament to its sound design.