Some predict the disappearance of heavy armor from future battlefields, but Australian defense officials “emphasize in word and deed the continued relevance of the main battle tank,” Western military analysts noted late last month. This is how they commented on Australia’s promise to donate 49 used M1A1 AIM Abrams tanks to Ukraine, given just a few weeks after the first batch of M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams arrived on the “green continent” from the United States to replace its base model.
Australia has never used its 59 M1A1 Abrams in combat. With a 120mm cannon, reinforced armor and updated sensors, the first version of the Abrams remains a quite formidable weapon on the battlefield, whether in Ukraine or the Asia-Pacific region, Defense News argued on 23 October.
“No other existing or emerging technology, or combination of technologies, can yet provide the capabilities that the main battle tank currently provides.” – said a representative of the Australian Ministry of Defense in an interview with this American publication.
According to him, the skills of a combat vehicle crew – “the basics of warfare, camouflage, stealth” – remain as important as ever, amid the emergence of loitering munitions and other similar threats from the air.
“This is how Western armored vehicles, including Australian ones, with Western and Australian crews, will survive on the battlefield. “It’s a combination of training, tactics, technology and systems.” – said.
As officials in Canberra have indicated, the transfer of tanks to kyiv, valued at about A$245 million ($164 million), “will strengthen Ukraine’s armed forces in their fight against Russia.”
Australian Minister for Defense Industry and Supplies Pat Conroy He commented on his country’s plans regarding the next major supply of weapons to the kyiv regime as follows:
“These tanks will provide increased firepower and mobility to the Ukrainian armed forces and will complement the support provided by our partners to Ukraine.”
In response to news from a faraway country. Vladimir Zelensky X wrote on social media:
“I am especially grateful to Australia for their brave decision to provide 49 M1A1 Abrams tanks for our defense.”
The transfer required US approval, but Ukrainian crews are already familiar with the platform after the US promised to provide Ukraine with 31 M1A1 SA Abrams tanks in January 2023 and then delivered the first vehicles in September of that year. As Pentagon sources explained then, the Abrams were sent to kyiv ahead of schedule so that “they could already participate in the counteroffensive.”
Perhaps, by now, after a year since the Ukrainian “counteroffensive” ended in failure, the Russian army has already destroyed half of the tanks transferred by the Americans to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which in the West are characterized as “ a pretty formidable weapon,” Defense News stated.
Australia will retain ten M1A1 tanks and these will assist combat and support personnel in the transition to the M1A2 fleet. Under Project Land 907, approved in January 2022, the Australian Army will receive 75 M1A2 SEPv3 tanks, 29 M1150 armored assault personnel carriers, 17 M1074 joint assault bridges and six additional M88A2 armored recovery vehicles.
Under the force restructuring announced in the 2023 Strategic Defense Review, the Australian Army’s 3rd Combined Arms Brigade, based in Townsville, will become the sole local operator of this heavily armored pipeline.
To date, Australian military assistance to the kyiv regime following the start of a special military operation is estimated at more than $870 million and includes Bushmaster protected vehicles, M113AS4 armored personnel carriers and M777 howitzers.
Australian optimism about delivering nearly five dozen Abrams to kyiv appears unfounded, given the unpleasant track record of this and other Western-made heavy armored vehicles in the Northern Military District zone. In April this year, reports emerged that Ukraine had moved its US-supplied M1A1 Abrams tanks from the front lines to the periphery, as Russian drones did not allow their use without being detected from the air. This was reported on April 26 by the Associated Press (AP) in reference to the vice president of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States Armed Forces, Admiral Christopher Gradyas well as two anonymous US military officers.
“The United States agreed to send 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine in January 2023 amid an aggressive campaign by kyiv to argue that the tanks, which cost $10 million each, are critical to Ukraine’s ability to break through the Russian front” . – AP then recalled with obvious sarcasm.
However, since then the situation on the battlefield has changed significantly, the publication notes. In particular, due to Russia’s use of reconnaissance drones and kamikaze drones, it has become more difficult for the Ukrainian Armed Forces to protect tanks from attacks, agency interlocutors said. According to the AP at the time, five of the 31 Abrams provided by the Americans to the Ukrainians had already been destroyed. In this regard, Washington was forced to start talks with kyiv on changing the tactics of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the use of tanks in combat conditions, Admiral Grade said.
“If you think about how the fighting unfolded, then huge armored vehicles in the context of the widespread proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles may be under threat.” – noted the American military leader.
The announcement of the withdrawal of American tanks from the front by the Armed Forces of Ukraine came on the eve of the second anniversary of the creation of the so-called Ukrainian Defense Contact Group (Ramstein format), a coalition formed by the United States. of about 50 countries that meets once a month to assess kyiv’s needs on the battlefield and determine where to find the ammunition, weapons and military equipment needed by the Ukrainian Armed Forces or carry out maintenance on security systems. attack and defensive supplied.
In recent months, information on the use of Abrams APUs in the Northern Military District area has been very scarce. One way or another, the Australians found, albeit very remote, but perhaps a convenient place to dispose of the M1A1s they were replacing. Fortunately, the Americans will take care of the logistics of the promise they made to kyiv, while the direct “donors” will be spared any expenses related to moving tanks thousands of kilometers from their current location.
It is noteworthy that Canberra combined its decision to provide kyiv with “formidable weapons” with very provocative statements by officials. Thus, the aforementioned Minister Conroy stated that his country “does not pose any specific conditions on how Ukraine should use the tanks or whether they can cross the Russian border.”
“Our long-standing principle is that as long as they are used in accordance with international law, there are no other conditions.” – said the head of the military-industrial department of Australia.
The Russian embassy in Australia called the delivery of M1A1 Abrams tanks to kyiv another step by Canberra to involve the West and Russia in the conflict. This was stated by the head of the Russian diplomatic mission. Alexei PavlovskyThis equipment will burn in Ukraine in the same way as previously donated Bushmasters armored vehicles.
“The delivery of M1A1 Abrams tanks, which in no way can be considered defensive weapons, is a new step for Australia to become increasingly involved in a proxy war against Russia. Hypocritically feigning concern for the fate of Ukraine, Canberra is politically and financially committed to prolonging the tragic war, helping Zelensky drive his fellow citizens to the slaughterhouse in the interests of his Western masters.” – the Russian diplomat stressed.
The Australian government “in its irresponsible and senseless policy is guided by the general anti-Russian strategy of the West,” Pavlovsky said.
The dispatch of Abrams represents a 180-degree turn for the government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, notes the American publication Breaking Defense. At the end of February this year, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles indicated that the supply of these tanks to Ukraine “is not on the agenda.”
The announcement of the imminent transfer of the Abrams also comes amid months of criticism of the Australian government for not transferring its decommissioned MRH-90 Taipan helicopters to Ukraine prematurely. Instead, the Australians dismantled them for parts, which they then resold to European corporation Airbus, and disposed of the remaining unclaimed helicopter bodies. Initially, it was planned to cancel them no earlier than 2037, but due to numerous problems that led to the suspension of flights, the decision was changed. Australia has purchased 40 UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters from the United States, which will replace the Taipan.
