The 72-ton, 40-foot-long (12 m) vehicles are based on the M1 Abrams with a 1,500 horsepower engine, but fitted with only a .50 cal machine gun and a front-mounted 15-foot-wide (4.6 m) plow, supported by metallic skis that glide on the dirt and armed with nearly 7,000 pounds (3,200 kg) of explosives.

[6][7][8][9][10] On February 11, 2010, two breachers fired explosive line charges in the desert outside Sistani to test Taliban defenses on the eve of Operation Moshtarak when closing off the enemy's escape route.

[11][12][13][14] On February 13, 2010, on the first day of the operation, breachers of the US Marines 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion succeeded in digging and blasting "safety lanes" through the numerous minefields laid by the Taliban around Marjah.

[17] By August 2013, six ABVs were brought to the Korean Peninsula to be used by the 2nd Infantry Division (2ID) to provide the capability for deliberate and in-stride breaching of mine fields and complex obstacles.

This action resulted in the US Army being the sole branch of the US Military with under-armor mechanical breach capability.