Latest $2.5 Billion Ukraine Aid Package Includes  Bradleys, Strykers & Humvees – Why Ukraine Needs Heavy Armor

By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

(Washington D.C.) The arrival of Bradleys is certainly welcome and likely to be paradigm-changing as Ukraine continues its counterattacks and seeks to reclaim and hold territory, a development supported by many Humvees, tactical trucks, Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles and other transport and logistical support systems to advance forces into territories previously held by Russia. 

This latest $2.5 billion package, announced by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Germany, includes 59-more Bradleys, as many as 90 Strykers and 350 Humvees. More tanks are reportedly on the way as well from other allied nations as well, something likely to be of critical value for Ukrainians.

There may be a need for an even greater volume of armored and tactical vehicles, given the pure numbers associated with the Russian force, however the Bradleys arriving thus far are likely to give Ukrainians a previously unprecedented ability to “breach” a Russian perimeter, close to contact with enemy and “mass” the kinds of heavier mechanized forces necessary to hold new ground. 

While Russian forces have of course had strategic, tactical, logistical and morale problems, they do have sheer numbers, therefore it seems there may be a need for Ukrainians to “mass” armored forces to an even greater extent to propel their counterattacks and ultimately prevail. Bradleys and Stykers will clearly need tank support to maximize Combined Arms Maneuver effectiveness. 

This latest Pentagon support effort may be the first time “Strykers” were sent to Ukraine, something which will greatly fortify arriving Bradleys. As wheeled vehicles, Strykers can reach speeds up to 60 mph or faster, much more than Bradleys which are tracked, so they can be impactful when it comes to using roads and existing infrastructure to advance infantry and firepower. 

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