Washington.- M1 Abrams tanks have led the assault actions of US forces for decades.
With a four-man crew, the Abrams were first used on a battlefield in 1991. They feature heavy armour, a 120mm caliber main gun, the ability to penetrate enemy armor, advanced firing systems, wide tracks, a 1,500 horsepower turbine engine and a top speed of 68 kilometers per hour.
After the Persian Gulf War, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) interviewed several soldiers who praised the tank’s high survivability and said that several M1A1 crews reported receiving frontal hits. direct from the Iraqi T-72s, but left minimal damage.
In their most recent operation, these battle titans spearheaded the offensive against Baghdad during the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, where units of the 3rd Infantry Division conducted what they called “Storm Strikes” to penetrate Iraqi defenses.
The Abrams’ powerful turbine engine allows them to travel over almost any terrain, whether it’s snow-covered or extremely muddy, said Kevin Butler, a former Army lieutenant who was the leader of the Abrams tank platoon.
Butler recorded that in the late 1990s he conducted military maneuvers in muddy ground at Fort Stewart, Georgia, where he expressed concern that tanks would get bogged down as Humvees had.
The Abramses, he said, “didn’t even notice” the mud.
The Abrams’ engine needs hundreds of gallons of fuel to run.
The tank consumes at least 4.7 liters of fuel per kilometer, whether stationary or moving, Butler said, meaning a convoy of tankers needs to be available for them to keep going.
The United States is concerned that the fuel demands pose a logistical nightmare for Ukrainian forces.
While Abrams can cross snow or mud, fuel trucks cannot. Also, like any jet engine, the Abrams’ turbines need to breathe and draw in air through filtered vents at the rear.
When those filters get clogged, either with sand or other debris they might find in the Ukraine, they stop working.
It will also take months for training in the use of the Abrams. Ukrainian forces will have to learn the operation of the tank’s more complex systems and how to keep it running and supplied with fuel.
Despite the downsides the US voiced, it all came down to political realities and a diplomatic dance.
Germany had been reluctant to send its Leopard 2s, or allow the Allies to send theirs, unless the United States made its Abrams available due to its fears that supplying the tanks would anger Russia.
For its part, the United States argued that the German-made Leopard 2s were a better option because Ukrainian forces could obtain them and undergo training more quickly and easily.
The stalemate frustrated European allies such as Poland, which wanted to send its Leopard 2s but could not do so without German authorization. Thus began the most intense negotiations.
US and German officials used the word “intensive” to describe the talks that ultimately resulted in both countries changing their minds about sending the tanks.
Similarly, a senior US official said it had been negotiated for some time but intensified in recent weeks.
Many calls were made. President Joe Biden spoke to various parties, including Scholz. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Army General Mark Milley.
Last Friday, the pressure was palpable. Defense officials from more than 50 countries met at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany to discuss Ukraine’s current needs for weapons and equipment.
Tanks were a primary theme. The rulers of the countries that have Leopard 2 tanks have freed themselves with the new German Defense Minister.
Germany gradually softened its public stance, leading up to Wednesday’s announcements. Officials in the Biden Administration dodged the nagging question of why the change is due.
When Biden was asked directly about any pressure from Berlin, the president told reporters that “Germany did not force me to change our position.”
The timing of the delivery of the tanks to Ukraine and the training of Ukrainian soldiers is not clear. Federal officials will limit themselves to saying that it will take “many months” to deliver the Abrams tanks, but that the Leopards will arrive faster.
Doug Bush, the Army’s undersecretary for procurement, said the United States no longer buys the Abrams, but uses the older models as “seed vehicles” and refurbishes them. Doing so, however, is neither easy nor quick, he clarified.
Training can start faster, and the Pentagon is already drawing up a program.
“We want to make sure that they are ready when they get the tanks, and that the Ukrainians know how to use them, how to keep them running, and that they have the supply chain ready for parts and supplies,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. .
