Army opens new track in Maryland to test safety of military vehicles operating at high speeds

Army opens high-speed test track for war vehicles

ABERDEEN, Md. — The Army has a new test track in Maryland to study war-fighting vehicles operating at high speeds.

An Abrams tank, a Humvee and other vehicles thundered down the 4.5-mile oval Wednesday at Aberdeen Proving Ground north of Baltimore during a ceremony.

The Department of Defense says the oval is the military’s first contiguous, flat track for sustained high-speed vehicle testing.

Engineers hope to use the track to find ways to reduce the number of motor vehicle accidents, the leading cause of U.S. military fatalities.

Officials say military convoys in Iraq and Afghanistan must frequently travel long distances at over 70 mph to counter enemy threats. But until now, the military has had no way to test all its vehicles at high speeds for extended periods.