This is the M1 Abrams, the powerful US battle tank that Kyiv wants but can’t have.

  • NATO allies and partners are sending a large number of armored vehicles to Ukraine.
  • Kyiv was even promised Western-made tanks, in particular, the British Challengers.
  • But German Leopard tanks and American Abrams tanks are still out of the question.

The US has guaranteed tens of billions of dollars of military aid to Ukraine, including nearly everything from artillery to armored vehicles, but powerful M1 Abrams tanks have not been included in aid packages, despite Kyiv’s requests for tanks.

“I just don’t think we’re there yet,” Deputy Defense Secretary Colin Kahl said this week. “The Abrams tank is a very complex piece of equipment,” he said. “It is expensive. It’s hard to train on it. It has a jet engine.”

Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said that given the cost of maintaining the Abrams, “it just doesn’t make sense at the moment to provide them to the Ukrainians,” arguing that British Challenger tanks and German Leopard tanks were the best alternative.

The UK has already offered to send some of its Challenger 2 tanks to Kyiv, but Germany has opposed calls to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine or allow others to do so. On Friday, the defense ministers discussed the issue of tanks, but there was no progress on either German or American tanks.

This is the M1 Abrams that Kyiv wants but can’t get their hands on yet.

M1A2 Abrams tanks from Company A, 2-116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team (CBCT), Idaho Army National Guard, undergoing a field exercise at the Orchard Combat Training Center (OCTC). Thomas Alvarez/Idaho Army National Guard

While the Ukrainian Defense Ministry has humorously proposed renaming the Abrams a “vacation vehicle” to allay any potential U.S. concerns about sending tanks, this heavy tracked vehicle, the U.S. main battle tank, is not heading to Ukraine.

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) January 12, 2023

The M1 Abrams tank, a heavy armor product of what is now General Dynamics Land Systems but called Chrysler Defense, was developed in the 1970s as a replacement for the old M60 army tanks. It first entered service in 1980 but did not see combat until the Gulf War in the early 1990s.

Just over 2,000 Abrams tanks saw combat service during the war, and only 23 were damaged or destroyed. Of the nine destroyed, not one was lost as a result of enemy action.

The Government Accountability Office report on the performance of Abrams tanks and Bradley infantry fighting vehicles in this conflict states that Abrams crews reported direct frontal hits from Soviet T-72s and sustained only minor damage.

After the Gulf War, the US military developed the M1A2 Abrams, which has been constantly upgraded over the past two decades. The Abrams tank was also heavily involved in combat early in the Iraq War and was used to some extent in Afghanistan.

U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division fire their M1A2 SEPV3 main battle tanks as part of artillery qualification, September 22, 2022, at the Mielno Tank Range, Drawsko-Pomorskie Range, Poland. US Army Staff Sgt. Charles Porter

The modern M1A2 weighs more than 70 tons, is equipped with a 1500 hp AGT1500 gas turbine engine. for speeds up to 42 mph and is armed with a 120mm cannon, a .50 caliber M2 machine gun and a pair of 7.62 caliber M240s. machine guns mm.

Piloted by a team of four soldiers, namely gunner, loader, driver and commander, the Abrams can provide the mobility, firepower and, perhaps most importantly, the shock effect needed to exploit weak spots in enemy lines and carry out offensive breakthroughs.

When facing an enemy, the Abrams is protected by Chobham Composite Armor, an upgraded depleted uranium mesh. Its protection can be enhanced with explosive dynamic protection units.

General Dynamics Land Systems is currently in the process of developing the next-generation Abrams, the so-called Abrams X main battle tank, which will rely on a smaller AI-supported crew to provide increased combat capability with better fuel efficiency.

U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division fire their M1A2 SEPV3 main battle tanks as part of artillery qualification, September 22, 2022, at the Mielno Tank Range, Drawsko-Pomorskie Range, Poland. US Army Staff Sgt. Charles Porter

Several partner countries have offered to send armored vehicles to Ukraine in recent weeks. The US, Germany, France and Sweden have pledged infantry fighting vehicles, while the UK has said it will send its Challenger tanks, but the leadership in Kyiv says it’s not enough as Ukraine is receiving praise for its success against Russia. .

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this week at Ramstein Air Base that “hundreds of thanks are not hundreds of tanks.”

Jeffrey Edmonds, a Russia expert at the Center for Naval Analysis and a former US Army armor officer, says the US should do everything possible to get the Abrams tanks to Ukraine, but he acknowledged there are obstacles that make it a problem.

“The maintenance problem with all its components is a real problem,” Edmonds said, pointing to the thousands of tiny parts, some of which are necessary to keep the car running smoothly, that Ukraine needs to have at its disposal. and use in the field.

Soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division prepare to test-fire the U.S. Army’s new M1A2 SEPV3 Abrams main battle tank, Fort Hood, Texas, August 18, 2020. Photo US Army by Sgt. Calab Franklin

“Another thing that people don’t talk about is how well the crews will be trained and how well they will use the tanks,” he said, noting that “tank fighting is a kind of art.”

But if Ukraine can properly maintain and operate them, “they are great for Ukrainian forces,” Edmonds said, explaining that “the only reason tanks were created was to make a static situation fluid.”

The situation on the front line in Ukraine is brutal, fighting turning into tenacious artillery skirmishes with minimal gains on either side.

Powerful modern tanks like the Abrams, Leopards and Challengers that the Ukrainians have been looking for, along with all the other armor and weapons heading in that direction, may be just what Kyiv needs to fuel the offensive and break through Russian positions. , but for now the Abrams is on the table.

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