While waiting for the F-16 fighter jets promised by several countries, the war in Ukraine remains a ground conflict in which tanks remain a key element. After the 150 Leopard 2 sent by a dozen countries, kyiv now has the American M1A1 Abrams, according to a message from President Zelensky on Telegram. We do not know exactly how many of the 31 promised by Joe Biden were sent.
Entered into service in the early 1980s, the Abrams M1A1 received its baptism of fire in 1991 during Operation Desert Storm during the Iraq War. Of the almost 2,000 tanks sent, none were destroyed and only about twenty were damaged. Since then, General Dynamics has produced more than 10,000 copies for the United States and foreign customers (Poland, Egypt, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Morocco).
The power of these 70-ton armored vehicles, still in service with American troops, particularly the Marines, could firmly support the counteroffensive against the Russian army before winter arrives.
A tank killer
They are capable of accurately hitting a target up to 4 km away with their 120 mm M256 smoothbore cannon developed by the German Rheinmetall for the Leopard 2 and produced under license in the United States. The Abrams can reach a speed of 8 shots per minute and carries 40 depleted uranium munitions capable of piercing the armor of Russian tanks.
Will they be able to dominate the situation to recover the Dombass territories under Russian control? At this point, the US military remains cautious. For General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Abrams “will give Ukraine an advantage, but not a decisive advantage, there is no miracle solution,” he warned during a meeting of Ukraine’s allies in Ramstein, Germany.
A “simplified” version
In fact, the version provided to kyiv is not exactly the same as the one used by the US military, as the newspaper reports USA Today. It would even be a so-called “simplified” version. Before shipping them, the Pentagon removed advanced technologies, including targeting devices, for fear they would fall into the hands of Russian forces. Without these systems it is difficult to be effective at night and in very bad weather when visibility is reduced.
The other weak point of the Abrams is its fuel consumption, which reaches 14 liters of diesel to travel one mile or 1.6 km. Thus, its range would not reach 500 km and, therefore, it cannot move away from a supply source which, if attacked by a fire, runs the risk of isolating a tank and causing it to run out of fuel. It is this risk that would cause an operational tank to fall into enemy hands and that the Americans absolutely want to avoid.
The Kremlin appears not to fear Abrams who, according to Moscow, “will not change the balance of power afterwards.” A spokesman for Vladimir Putin even promised to “burn them,” even though “they are serious weapons.”
Source: BFM TV
