To speed up deliveries, the Pentagon settled on an older version of the Abrams tank. The Pentagon is speeding up deliveries of Abrams tanks to Ukraine, deciding to ship a refurbished old model that could be ready sooner.
Thus, 70-ton combat vehicles can be delivered to the combat zone by autumn.
The Pentagon announced this.
The original plan was to ship 31 new M1A2 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, which would have taken a year or two to build and ship.
Officials said that a decision had been made to send tanks of an older version of the M1A1, which can be taken from army warehouses.
Officials also noted that it would be easier for the Ukrainian military to learn how to manage and operate M1A1 tanks.
“Since we announced this, we have been exploring various options to deliver armored vehicles as soon as possible,” Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said at a briefing. “After further research and analysis of how best to do this, the Ministry of Defense, in close cooperation with Ukraine, has decided to send the M1A1 variant of the Abrams tank, which will allow us to significantly accelerate delivery times and provide this important equipment to Ukraine by this fall. “.
The M1A1 Abrams tanks will have “very similar capabilities” to the M1A2, Ryder said, including improved armor and weapons systems such as a 120mm cannon and heavy machine gun.
“We are talking about transferring this important combat potential to the Ukrainian side early,” a Pentagon spokesman said.
According to Ryder, the hulls in excess will be re-equipped and re-equipped to create M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks, which can be quickly sent to Ukraine to meet its needs.
Ryder also told reporters that preparations are underway to train the Ukrainian military to operate tanks.
“We will make sure that the Ukrainians have received the necessary training to operate these tanks by the time they are delivered,” he said. – Later we will provide more details about this preparation. But that’s our intention, and I’m sure we’ll get through it.”
On Monday, the Pentagon also announced another package of security assistance to Ukraine. The package, worth about $350 million, includes ammunition, anti-radar missiles, anti-tank weapons systems, and grenade launchers, among other things.
The Pentagon said that since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, the US has pledged $32.5 billion in security assistance to Ukraine.
Source : Voa