TSAMTO, August 8. The Spanish Defense Ministry has started implementing the procedure for the delivery of 20 tracked armored vehicles M-113 (TOA Transporte Oruga Acorazados) to the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the armored personnel carrier version.
As reported by Infodefensa.com, the supply of this batch of armored vehicles is one of the directions that the Spanish authorities are considering to support the AFU. It is assumed that Spain has decided to transfer the M-113 free of charge, but finally all the details of the delivery have not yet been agreed. According to anonymous sources of the publication, other options may also be included in the delivery package. So, Ukraine requested self-propelled 120 mm mortars, which were previously sent by the Spanish Armed Forces as part of the NATO contingent to Latvia.
Earlier, along with the M-113, it was planned to transfer the Leopard-2A4 main battle tanks from the Spanish Armed Forces to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, but in the end it was decided to abandon this delivery, due to the unsatisfactory condition of the equipment that is stored at the Casetas base (near Zaragoza). Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles explained that it is impossible to send the Leopard MBT to Ukraine, which have not been used for many years.
M-113 TOA have been in service with the Spanish Armed Forces since the late 1960s. Due to the long service life and intensive use in recent years, modernization programs have been implemented to preserve the operability of the equipment. In parallel, a plan is being developed to remove part of the M-113 from service. According to The Military Balance 2022, there are about 465 units of M-113 in various variants in the composition of the Spanish army. As expected, they will be replaced by the BBM "Dragon" with a wheel formula of 8x8.
Margarita Robles met with Ukrainian Ambassador Sergey Pogoreltsev in Madrid on August 3. The representative of Ukraine repeated to the Minister that the AFU needs more weapons. M. Robles confirmed that the Ministry is preparing the supply of defense systems. S. Pogoreltsev said that the Ministry of Defense has a list of weapons that Ukraine needs. It includes missiles and MLRS similar to the HIMARS supplied by the United States. However, Spain can only make a small contribution in this area. The Armed Forces of the country removed the Teruel MLRS from service more than ten years ago, and the existing air defense systems require modernization. Earlier, the Spanish Ministry of Defense offered the APU an Aspide air defense system battery of the European MBDA group, whose service life is expiring.
