By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization
Soviet-era T-72, British Challenger 2s, Leopard 2s and now US-designed Abrams tanks will all be attacking Russian forces in support of Ukraine’s counteroffensive, developments which could further push Ukrainian forces into Russian held territory.
Existing heavy armor in the form of Strykers, Bradleys and several allied tanks have likely already had a huge impact with Ukraine’s latest advances as tactics have shifted from what was primarily a defensive, anti-armor posture using Javelins and other tank-destroying weapons,
Pentagon officials say as many as 31 Abrams tanks will arrive in Ukraine at some point this Fall, after Ukrainian soldiers finish training on the tanks and preparing for war in Germany. Approximately 500 Ukrainian soldiers are performing Combined Arms Maneuver with Abrams tanks in Hohenfels and Grafenwoehr training areas in Germany.
“We expect the tanks to be arriving in Ukraine sometime in the fall,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters recently, according to a DoD transcript.
Along with learning about the procedures, tactics and strategies needed to attack Russian forces with Abrams tanks, Ukrainians will also learn how to sustain the Abrams.
“You’ve heard us talk about the fact that the M1 is a complex machine that requires a lot of maintenance to sustain it and keep it operating. So that will be crucial, which is why we’re doing the training in stride with the actual refurbishment of the tanks,” Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters recently, according to a Pentagon transcript.
Although 31 arriving tanks might not seem like a large number, it is definitely sufficient to form several critical attack formations, particularly if the Abrams platforms are networked to one another. One interesting question likely pertains to the specific kinds of “export” variants of the Abrams the Ukrainians will receive, as modern Abrams tanks have shown unprecedented ability to track and destroy targets at greater distances and in more complex circumstances. US Army M1A3 SEP v3, for example, operates with a ground-breaking Forward Looking Infrared Sensor (FLIR) able to massively expand range and image fidelity for Abrams gunners with high-resolution targeting and infrared sensing.
While details related to which Abrams variant the Ukrainians will receive are likely not available, this question about targeting sights seems critical, as it could enable Ukrainian Abrams tanks to “see” and target or destroy Russian tanks at safe stand-off distances. Sure enough, the Abrams was made famous in the Gulf War in the early 1990s because its thermal sights enabled US Army tank crews to find and destroy Iraqi T-72s from distances where they themselves were not seen. Should there be any kind of a comparable mis-match between arriving Abrams tanks and Russian T-72 and T-90s, the counteroffensive could be well-positioned to further advance.
Following the Pentagon’s announcement that Abrams tanks will go to Ukraine, a Russian state-backed newspaper claimed the US platforms will be vulnerable to Soviet-era tanks. This is something likely very difficult to verify, as the evidence from the warzone seems to suggest the opposite, as Russia appears to have lost more than 2,000 tanks.
US Armor in Ukraine
Thus far, Ukrainians are known to operate at least 186 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, 189 Stryker Vehicles, 300 M113 Armored Personnel Carriers, 250 Armored Security Vehicles, more than 500 MRAPs and more than 2,000 HMMWVs.
Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven – the Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
