M1 Abrams, Leopard 2, Challenger 2: These are the tanks that Ukraine will get from the US and Europe – World Time Todays

Washington – President Biden announced on Wednesday that the US will send 31 top personnel Main battle tank M-1 Abrams to Ukraine, fulfilling an important request from Kyiv that will provide a major boost to Ukrainian firepower in the coming months.

“Today I am announcing that the United States will send 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, equivalent to one Ukrainian battalion,” Biden said at the White House, flanked by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. The security package is worth around $400 million, the Pentagon said.

The move comes after Germany announced it deploy quickly 14 of its own Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and allowing Western partners to re-export their own, a move Mr Biden praised. France, Britain, Finland, the Netherlands and other nations are also sending vital security aid, Mr Biden noted, stressing that the United States move is part of a concerted effort by Western allies.

According to a recent analysis by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, it would take about 100 tanks to have a significant impact on the fighting. A growing coalition of donor countries would make this goal achievable: “The more countries donate tanks, the easier it will be to share the burden of the gift,” declared the European Council on External Relations.

Here’s what allies send.

leopard 2

As Germany’s main battle tank, the third-generation Leopard 2 is one of the most-commissioned tanks worldwide, serving in more than a dozen other European countries and deployed in conflict zones such as Kosovo, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Syria. First developed in 1979, the government-made vehicle can reach speeds of 42 miles per hour and is armed with a 120mm smoothbore gun as its main armament and two coaxial light machine guns. Touted by its manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann as having optimal maneuverability, it also offers all-round protection against improvised explosive devices, mines or anti-tank fire.

“These are the Mercedes-BMW super tanks in the world,” Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, the former commander of Britain’s CBRN military regiment, told CBS News. “I would want at least 10 or 15 T-72 survivors against one of them,” he said, referring to the Soviet-Russian models.

Aside from the Leopard 2’s widespread availability, which extends to neighboring Poland, the tank’s minimum training requirements for Ukraine could be of further interest.

“These tanks were designed for conscripts to be very easy to use,” said de Bretton-Gordon, comparing the tank’s controls to a ’90s PlayStation video game console. “You’re holding a kind of controller in your hand, basically has three buttons – you just have to press them in the right order, point the gun at the target and the tank will do the rest.”

So far, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has authorized the deployment of 14 Leopard 2 tanks and associated ammunition from his national inventories, as well as the necessary training for their use on the battlefield.

M1 Abrams

Known for its stabilized gun and accuracy, the M1 Abrams, the US’s main battle tank, also features a number of crew protections designed to protect against chemical, biological and nuclear attacks. The third-generation tank, exported to armies such as Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Iraq, carries a 120mm gun and a lighter turbine engine. The tank, which entered service in 1980, “continues to deal with the new and emerging threats associated with the next generation of warfare,” according to its manufacturer General Dynamics land systems.

Last week, US officials with Undersecretary of Defense Colin Kahl said the tank’s complexity could pose a problem in Ukraine tell reporters “It is expensive. It’s hard to train on… It’s not the easiest system to maintain.”

However, De Bretton-Gordon said the Abrams are similar to their Western counterparts in ease of use and efficiency, with a slight increase in the fuel required. A lot of people talk about the Abrams being a big tank, he said, “but it’s slightly larger than the Leopard and about the same size as the Challenger 2.”

challenger 2

The British Challenger 2 is a third generation tank designed and built by BAE Systems in service with the armies of the United Kingdom and Oman. It officially entered service in 1994 and has been used in military operations including in Eastern Europe and Iraq, as well as NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence in the Baltic States. It can reach top speeds of 60 km/h and is equipped with a 55 caliber long tank gun, a chain gun and a machine gun and according to the manufacturer its primary purpose is to “destroy or neutralize armor”.

The UK Ministry of Defense has described the tanks as “unmatched in their ability to exert extreme pressure on the enemy” and claimed they repelled swift and determined advances. An even earlier version, the Challenger 1, is believed to hold the record for the longest range of tank-to-tank kills in history, with the vehicle destroying an Iraqi tank from a distance of three miles during the first Gulf War .

Earlier this month Britain became the first western country to agree to send its tanks to Ukraine, with Downing Street announcing the delivery of 14 Challenger 2s along with other military equipment after a meeting between Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.