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In the 1970s, NATO countries were trying to develop new and powerful main battle tanks to counter the looming threat of Soviet armor. After the failure of the MBT-70 program, the United States and Germany went their separate ways to develop their own vehicles. However, in the interest of interoperability, Germany offered their new Leopard 2 MBT as a competitor to the Army's XM1 prototypes. A competition and a scandal ensued, with the Leopard eventually being withdrawn. Many people nowadays speculate that the Leopard 2 should have won and that the M1 Abrams only won because of favoritism, politics, economic grounds, or a combination of the three. After doing some digging, I do not believe this was the case.

Sources:
U.S. Army XM-1 Tank Program: Hearings Before the Committee on Armed Services
MAJOR SYSTEMS ACQUISITION REFORM - ARMY XM-1 TANK PROGRAM
Report of the Oversight Hearings on the Status of the Army XM-1 Tank Program
Hearings on Military Posture and H.R. 6495
Department of Defense Appropriations for 1981
ADA267030 “Prepare the Army for War; A Historical Overview of the Army Training and Doctrine Command, 1973-1993.”
ADA141313 “COMPETITION AS AN ACQUISITION STRATEGY: IMPACT OF COMPETITIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ON PROCUREMENT COSTS
ADA039673 “An Examination of the XM-1 Tank System Acquisition Program in a Peacetime Environment”
ADA592510 “Big Five Lessons for Today and Tomorrow”
ADA105123 “Collaborative Development of Main Battle Tanks; Lessons from the U.S.-German Experience, 1963-1978”
ADA109202 “PERSONNEL AND TRAINING SUBSYSTEM INTEGRATION IN AN ARMOR SYSTEM”
Abrams: A History of the American Main Battle Tank by R.P. Hunnicutt
M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank 1993–2018 by Steven J. Zaloga
Camp Colt to Desert Storm, The History of U.S. Armored Forces by George F. Hofmann
Leopard 2 Main Battle Tank 1979-98 by Michael Jerchel
PSAD-78-1 Department of Defense Consideration of West Germany's Leopard as the Army's New Main Battle Tank


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