Posted on 01/26/2023 11:36:45 AM PST by Red Badger
A group of M1 Abrams tanks sit in a holding area after being offloaded from the freighter ship “Resolve” at the port of Antwerp April 24. Photo by Staff Sgt. Warren W. Wright Jr., 21st TSC Public Affairs
As the U.S. government is now preparing to send dozens of M1 Abrams tanks to the Ukrainian military, much attention has been given to concerns about how their complex electronic components and especially their gas turbine propulsion systems could make them particularly difficult to operate and maintain. Though it’s not yet clear what specific variant of the Abrams Ukraine’s military is set to receive, the tanks will have to be in a unique export configuration. This is largely due to the highly classified armor packages found specifically on U.S. military versions, which contain depleted uranium, and that are not readily exportable even to major allies. In other words, the U.S. can’t just send its M1s to Ukraine.
President Joe Biden formally announced plans to send 31 M1 tanks to the Ukrainian armed forces today. The U.S. government will acquire the Abrams through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI). USAI provides funds to purchase weapon systems and other equipment, as well as training and other support services, on behalf of the Ukrainian military to support its longer-term needs. While the exact delivery schedule is not yet known, American officials have made clear the process will take months, not weeks. The first tanks may not arrive until late this year or even early next year.
In addition, it’s not immediately clear whether the M1s for Ukraine will be entirely new production tanks or if they will come through some other source. The U.S. Army has thousands of older Abrams in storage that a contractor could be hired to refurbish to a like-new condition or that could be used as donors to help with the construction of tanks that use a mixture of new and remanufactured components.
No matter what, they will need to be an exportable configuration before heading to Ukraine. So a big part of whatever that process ultimately entails will center on their armor package.
Starting in the late 1980s, many new-production M1A1s for the U.S. military began to feature composite armor packages that include depleted uranium (DU), a metal known for its high density, and other materials. Armor packages that incorporated DU were included on subsequent A2-series variants, as well. Many older American M1A1s were later upgraded with the newer armor and other improvements, including hundreds that were eventually brought up to the A2 standard.
Our tank drivers are inside depleted uranium hulls? That doesn’t sound very safe.
The bribe money is sent directly to his offshore accounts. Or funneled through his son.
Buy a painting and get a free tank. No fossil fuel supplied however.
Vlad is welcoming the brain dead move. I fully expect Vlad to exhibit at least one US M1 war trophy in his annual May Day celebration in Red Square, for all the world to see.
The war cheerleaders have gone totally nuts.
AFAIK, there were none left in Afghanistan.
None appear on the inventories.
The sensitive part is the depleted uranium portion of the armor package.
Explain why/how a telecom guy landed the CEO job at Lockheed Martin.....
Several of our tanks took direct hits during the Iraq war and kept on trucking..................
https://en.wikipedia.org//wiki/Lion_of_Babylon_(tank)
As I stated on another thread, when the US sells or gives equipment away, they give the barebones stuff. Stuff that is outdated compared to what is currently in use by our troops.
For example, Lockheed sells a country 20 F16s, through a Foreign Military Sales contract. Everything has to be approved by the State and Defense Dept and the countries, for the most part, are not getting our advanced electronics, etc. They get an airframe and an engine.
The Israelis buy F15s and then equip them with their own stuff which is just as good, if not better, than what we put in ours.
Anywho, the same would go for the Abrams. But something tells me that all of that will be throw to the wind and they won’t care what they send. There might be some junior officer that raises his/her hand to bring this point up, but they will be dismissed and probably transferred for daring to question a decision from the CINC, Austin or Milley.
Then, the Russians get marching orders to get one of the tanks, intact, so they can ship it back to Moscow for some detailed inspections.
Send Joe’s Corvette, it’s fast!
US support for Ukraine will reap many benefits for Russia in addition to maintaining dissension within American ranks.
You are now allowed to store them openly in your garage.
You sure Biden thinks that US soil is worth defending? Ask the Border Guards’ opinion in TX.
Are you talking about that populace that will have to face Biden’s F-15s and F-16s?
It’s World Soil now.
They will reconfigure then into the same package that we sell to Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Those tanks would have a hard time up against modern Russian armor, nonetheless Russian ATGMs. Same goes for the Leopards, Challengers, and Merkava tanks om the way.
The Russians have used and are in possession of Chinese drones and ATGMs.
Irony huh?
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