General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, suggested that the use of M1 Abrams tanks could change the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine.
“I think the M1 Abrams tank is the best tank in the world, there are some other good ones, such as the Leopard 2. When (an Abrams tank) is delivered (to Ukraine), the difference will be noticeable,” Milly stated.
At the same time, he noted that in combat operations there is no perfect vehicle, all means, in his words, they must be effective in combination.
Earlier on Friday, it was reported that US servicemen in Germany will begin training the Ukrainian military in the operation and maintenance of M1 Abrams tanks in early summer.
In January, US President Joe Biden announced the decision to send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Kiev.
The M1 Abrams is the US Army’s main battle tank and has been in service since 1980. The United States has over 3,450 of them in stock.
The Pentagon: the US will soon begin training Ukrainians on Abrams tanks
The US has already trained seven thousand Ukrainian soldiers to handle other weapons
The US will give Ukraine 31 tanks. According to Biden, delivery will take time, but the US will soon begin training the Ukrainian military in their operation.
In the United Kingdom, in 2021, they decided to decommission 77 Challenger 2s of the remaining 225 tanks in service, so that they could potentially be sent to Ukraine.
Neighboring Poland has already purchased 250 upgraded M1A2s and signed a contract for 116 M1A1s in early January. If Ukraine receives tanks “from the factory”, then it can be assumed that these will be more advanced versions of the Abrams version M1A2+.
The FV4034 “Challenger 2” is different from the other two tanks, promised to Ukraine. First, it was created after the Leopard 2 and M1 Abrams. American and German tanks are the result of the work of engineers at the height of the Cold War – their production began in 1980 and 1979, respectively. The British tank was created in the 1990s and entered service at the end of the decade.
However, even well-trained crews need combat coordination with other components of the combined battle – infantry, engineering units, intelligence. The Ukrainian military is now actively trained in army training centers abroad.
For the modern combined combat communication is also important in combat, and communication with the tanks, which operate in close cooperation with the infantry, is particularly important. In the armed forces of Ukraine, judging by the comments of the same Russian “military correspondents”, communications are quite well built, this is one of the strengths of the Ukrainian army.
But tanks themselves, even if they are very effective, are not a “silver bullet” in any war – they are simply a tool that still needs to be mastered.
