Video recorded by the Islamic State on November 3rd, 2016, shows an Iraqi M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank being hit by an Islamic State anti-tank guided missile system.

If you're a Russian watching this, this video should actually shake you to your core. Not only did the ammunition cook-off not cause the turret of the tank to enter the 2016 annual turret toss challenge, this video of a seemingly catastrophic kill did almost nothing to the actual Abrams itself. In fact, the Iraqis recovered this tank, repaired it, and later returned it to service against the Islamic State. This is because the vehicles blow-out panels did exactly what they're intended to do, which is vent the explosion and prevent the tank from being catastrophically destroyed in the event of a munitions cook-off from a kinetic strike.

The video was recorded near Mosul on November 3rd, 2016. While the exact ATGM used to conduct this strike has never been officially stated, from the missile profile it's pretty clear that it was from a Kornet system. The tank in the video is an export variant of the M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank, which is the exact variation that the Ukrainians will be receiving and fielding against the Russians in the coming months.

About the Author

Josh Brooks

Josh is an American writer and former USMC machine gunner with eight years of experience in ground combat arms throughout the GWOT. He is currently based in Texas and specializes in combat footage analysis and digital marketing.Follow Josh at OfficialJoshBrooks.com