The Army’s already-accelerated plan to field its next-generation M1E3 Abrams tank will hit a major milestone before the end of next year with its first soldier touchpoint, a General Dynamics executive revealed Wednesday.

Speaking at a panel alongside Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Randy George at the Association of the United States Army’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C., Danny Deep, executive vice president for Global Operations at GD, said a “pre-prototype” of the M1E3 would be sent to the fighting forces so they could kick the tires.

“We’re going to have it fielded in the next 12 months for soldiers to touch it, see what they like, see what they don’t like,” Deep said. “Then in short order after that, we’re going to start delivering this capability in the next two to three years

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