The Pentagon recently announced that it would hasten the delivery of M1 Abrams tanks and Patriot missiles to Ukraine. As per the revised plan, the US will deliver a refurbished older variant of the Abrams to Ukraine. The original plan was to send 31 more contemporary M1A2 Abrams, which may have taken a year or more to produce and transport to Ukraine.
However, as per the new plan that US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has approved, Washington will transfer the “older M1A1 type” from the Army supply. This will make it easier for the Ukrainian forces to learn how to use and maintain these tanks.
With the 70-ton behemoths armed with 120mm cannons and 50-caliber machine guns, the US will renovate extra M1 hulls and ship them as the M1A1 SA variant. Ryder said the M1A1 Abrams would have “a very similar capability” to the M1A2, including advanced armour and weapons systems, such as a 120mm cannon and 50-caliber heavy machine gun.
It is pertinent to note that shortly after the US announced it would transfer the M1A1 Abrams to Ukraine, Ukrainian President Zelensky said it would be “too late” if the delivery of the US main battle tank M1 Abrams were delayed until August. “Overall, I am grateful to the world for their support of Ukraine. But if we are talking frankly and honestly with you, the number of tanks and delivery time is of crucial and critical importance, compared to the decision made,” Zelensky said.
The German-origin Leopard-class tanks have already started to arrive in Ukraine and are expected to be fielded on the battlefield soon. Not just that, the United States is also making arrangements to help Kyiv deploy the PAC-3 Patriot Missile defence battery to shoot down Russian projectiles.
When the Pentagon announced in January that the Ukrainians would start training on PAC-3 Patriot Missile defence systems in Fort Sill, officials warned that the teaching might take months or a year. However, the Ukrainian soldiers have outperformed themselves and are already operating these systems skilfully. They are almost prepared to use it on the battlefield to defend Ukrainian cities and infrastructure from Russian attacks. US defence officials told the media that about 65 Ukrainian soldiers would soon finish their system training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
Army spokesperson Col. Martin O’Donnell highlighted that the Patriot is a “purely defensive weapon system” that will assist Ukraine in defending against Russian drones, aircraft, cruise missiles, and other ballistic missiles in cities and important infrastructure. “The Patriot air defence system presents no, I say again no, threat to Russia,” he said.
Once the Ukrainian soldiers finish training on these Patriot systems and the Abrams are shipped to the embattled country, the Ukrainian military will receive a massive shot in the arm for both offensive and defensive combat operations.
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