US To Begin Training Ukrainians On M1 Abrams Tanks Next Month

Training on the Abrams, to be conducted in Germany, will take approximately 10 weeks. 

Ukrainian troops have excelled at training on the other weapons they've received, including British and German tanks, so their ability to quickly learn the Abrams is expected to be similar. JL 

Nancy Youssef reports in the Wall Street Journal:

The U.S. will send 31 Abrams tanks to Germany next month and begin training Ukrainian forces on how to operate them, in a step that adds the formidable weapons to Ukraine’s arsenal as it prepares for a spring offensive. The 31 tanks make one Ukrainian tank battalion. There are diesel fuel variants of M1 tanks which could be sent to Ukraine. M1 Abrams tanks, combined with other U.S.-provided battlefield vehicles, could reshape how Ukraine fights to break through defensive lines Russia has been reinforcing for months. It is popular among Army ground troops who describe the tank as agile, fast and durable against any adversarial armor.

The U.S. will send 31 Abrams tanks to Germany next month and begin training Ukrainian forces on how to operate them, defense officials said Friday, in a step that adds a small number of the formidable weapons to Ukraine’s arsenal as it prepares for a spring offensive.

The U.S. began expediting its plans for the tanks earlier this spring when the Pentagon said it would send refurbished M1A1 Abrams tanks already in U.S. inventory instead of newer M1A2 Abrams tanks, moving up their expected delivery to the fall. Now, the tanks designed for training are expected to begin arriving in the next few weeks.

The M1 Abrams tank is among the most powerful ground weapons in the U.S. arsenal, able to close in on enemy tanks, troop positions and other targets, blast them with its cannon and machine guns, and then speed away. It also allows troops to fire at night from longer ranges than Russian tanks, for example.

The 31 U.S.-provided tanks are enough to make one Ukrainian tank battalion. There are diesel fuel variants of M1 tanks, which could be among those sent to Ukraine, defense officials said.

 

The announcement comes ahead of Ukraine’s expected offensive to drive Russia out of some occupied territories in the coming weeks.

The immediate aim of Ukraine’s planned offensive, using several new reserve brigades trained and equipped by the U.S. and NATO partners, is to break through defensive lines that Russia has been reinforcing for months.

Russia has been pressing an assault in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut with limited gains at the cost of tens of thousands of soldiers injured or killed. Ukrainian troops are holding on, despite their own heavy losses. Russia has also been renewing drone barrages as it seeks to deplete Ukraine’s air defenses; a shortage of air defenses could jeopardize its offensive.

Speaking to reporters at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where Ukrainian allies met Friday to discuss how to coordinate their support, Army Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that there are no “silver bullets” in terms of types of equipment that could help Ukraine prevail. But M1 Abrams tanks, combined with other U.S.-provided battlefield vehicles, could reshape how Ukraine fights, he said.

“In this case, you would have to make sure that your tanks are combined arms with mechanized infantry artillery, all of that is synchronized with dismounted forces,” Gen. Milley said. “I do think the M1 tank, when it’s delivered and it reaches its operational capability, will be very effective on the battlefield.”

The M1 tank is America’s main battle tank and has been used as a part of every major military operation since the Persian Gulf War in 1991. It is also particularly popular among Army ground troops who describe the tank as agile, fast and durable against any adversarial armor.

Pentagon officials had previously argued that the gas-guzzling tanks with their gas turbine engines, fuel requirements and substantial amount of training and logistics made them less-than-desirable for the conflict. The U.S. agreed to provide the tanks in January to meet Germany’s requirement for releasing its hold on its Leopard tanks. Berlin didn’t want to act before Washington made a similar commitment. 

The tanks will arrive at the U.S. Army’s Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany by the end of May, defense officials said. Between 200 to 300 Ukrainian troops will complete 10 weeks of training on the tanks, the officials said.

The tanks are coming from U.S. stocks, the officials said. 

There are no major differences between the tanks going to Germany and the tanks eventually going to Ukraine, other than they could be different variants, the officials said.

In all, the U.S. currently is training 2,500 Ukrainian forces and has trained another nearly 9,000 in Germany that have returned to the war, Gen. Milley said.

Plans were also made Friday for the German-made Leopard main battle tanks that allies are sending to Ukraine. Defense ministers meeting in Germany agreed on financing of up to €200 million a year for a repair and maintenance hub for the fleet of Leopard tanks, Germany’s defense minister, Boris Pistorius, told reporters. The hub will be set up in Poland near the border with Ukraine by the end of May.

A similar hub will be set up in Romania for the German-made Marder infantry fighting vehicles, Mr. Pistorius said.