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‘Give Me an Abrams!’ Ukrainian Tank Commanders Grow Impatient. [1]
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Date: 2023-03-24
U.S. Abrams tank taking part in an exercise in Poland in May of 2022
Carlotta Gall at The NY Times has a report from Ukraine on the desire for modern tanks:
For now, they are holding on with inferior Soviet-era tanks, but relish the idea of taking on the Russians with modern Western battle tanks.
OUTSKIRTS OF BAKHMUT, Ukraine — Large snowflakes drifted silently through the trees as two Soviet-era tanks roared to life and churned through the mud up the hill. It was daybreak on one of the last days of winter, and the tank commander and his deputy tramped through the snow checking on the men as they readied for battle. “The snow will give us cover,” said the commander, Poltava, explaining that Russian reconnaissance Orlan-10 drones that frequently fly over Ukrainian positions would be hampered by the weather. “We will bear it. The main thing is for our enemy to have a hard time and go home.”
It’s a fascinating look at what Ukrainian forces are making do with while they wait for more modern tanks to arrive — and Ukrainians trained to operate and maintain them. (The link should allow passage through the paywall.) The main subjects of the article have quite a history; the photos with the article are striking too:
..Equipped with Soviet-era tanks and relying on decades-old training, Poltava, 51, and his deputy, Chancellor, 57, embody the resilience of the Ukrainian Army. Trained at Ukraine’s Kharkiv Tank Institute more than 30 years ago, they were plucked from the ranks of volunteers soon after Russia invaded Ukraine last year and sent to lead a tank company. They have been fighting ever since... ...Their training has kept the men alive and their unit operational month after month. They even expanded their arsenal with a Russian T-72 tank captured in a battle in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, though they expressed frustration with the slow pace of deliveries of promised Western battle tanks that would enable them to take the battle to the Russians. “We need Western equipment so that we can go out at night,” Chancellor said, “and good communication and good optics. Here, it’s all old.”..
The article gives an idea of what the Ukrainians are up against, and how they’ve managed to do so well against Russian forces — and their impatience of having to wait for promised arms to arrive.
As Kos had pointed out multiple times, logistics are the big obstacle here. It takes time to train people to use these tanks effectively, it takes time to train them how to maintain them, and it takes time to assemble the supply chain tail to get all of the things needed to support these tanks on line. It’s all having to be built up from scratch. A few maxims:
MAXIM 24. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a big gun. [22]
MAXIM 34. If you’re leaving scorch-marks, you need a bigger gun. [30]
MAXIM 39. There is a difference between spare parts and extra [parts]. [35]
MAXIM 41. “Do you have a backup?” means “I can’t fix this.” [37]
The (currently) top reader comment at The NY Times addresses this. It’s a response to someone complaining they don’t find credible the Biden administration’s warnings that logistics for the Abrams are difficult:
Smaug New Mexico "The administration arguments about the logistical tail of Abrams come across as very hollow." I don't disagree with you, but your argument is largely an idealistic one and an emotional response to what's happening in Ukraine. I served in a combined arms unit in the Army during 2 deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and I can tell you this logistical tail is very much alive and very much the limiting factor in deploying Abrams and other advanced vehicles. The constant (no exaggeration, it is absolutely constant) maintenance these vehicles need, including the flow of spare parts and expertise needed to implement them is staggering. During my deployments, our Abrams were down for maintenance more than they were available for missions. What the public sees is a powerful representation of American military might, and that's true. But what they don't see is that these machines are enormously complex and ultimately very fragile and that they carry huge logistical struggles to keep these machines in the fight. As a better military mind than mine once said "amateurs discuss tactics, professionals discuss logistics."
emphasis added
Mark Sumner reports the latest news is that Ukraine will be getting Abrams tanks sooner:
News came on Thursday that U.S.-supplied Abrams M1 tanks may arrive in Ukraine sooner than expected. That’s because, as Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin made clear, the U.S. is going to tap the existing stock of older M1A1 tanks rather than wait for new export models of the M1A2 tank to roll off the line. This means that Ukraine will be getting something less than the most up-to-date model, but they’ll be getting it much sooner. Based on yesterday’s Pentagon briefing, the decision to go with sooner over better appears to have come from Ukraine. According to Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, “DoD, in close coordination with Ukraine, made the decision to buy the M1A1 variant which will enable us to significantly expedite delivery timelines, and deliver this important capability to Ukraine by the fall of this year.” The number of vehicles slated for delivery still seems to be 31. At least for now. The M1A1 and M1A2 share the same 120mm gun and much of the same structure. Many of the additional armor packages designed for the A2 also work with the A1. Most of the differences between the two are actually internal, with the A2 having improved thermal sights and a new weapons station for the tank commander that includes its own thermal display. That allows the commander to identify and tag potential new targets even as the gunner is already working on an existing target. The A2 also has improved tracks, designed to last longer with fewer repairs. The final configuration of the tanks bound for Ukraine is unclear—there are a lot of options that still fall within the M1A1 family—but it looks like they will be in Ukraine later this year.
As far as military matters go, fast is usually better than slow. How soon these tanks will arrive is probably more critical than whether they have all the latest bells and whistles. Still, the key is having the logistics tail secured along with the training needed to make the most effective use of these tanks — and that includes mastering the combined arms tactics needed to make them into a force multiplier.
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[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/3/24/2160084/--Give-Me-an-Abrams-Ukrainian-Tank-Commanders-Grow-Impatient
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