The American online publication POLITICO in the material by Lara Seligman and Paul McLeary "Biden will send Bradley Fighting Vehicles to Ukraine. And tanks could be next" ("Biden will send Bradley infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine. And the tanks may be as follows") informs about the upcoming deliveries of M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and Sea Sparrow anti-aircraft guided missiles to Ukraine as American military assistance, as well as about the gradual movement of the United States to supply Ukraine with M1 Abrams main tanks.
M2A3 Bradley Infantry fighting vehicles of the US Army, delivered by rail to Lithuania, 21.10.2019 (c) Mindaugas Kulbis / APThe US has so far refused to send Abrams tanks to Ukraine.
But the last step may open the way for sending more armored vehicles to Kiev.
The United States and Germany will send infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine, as announced by both countries on January 5. These decisions may open the way for the West to give Ukraine what it really wants - Western tanks.
The White House announced that it plans to supply Ukraine with Bradley infantry fighting vehicles - a tracked armored combat vehicle with a 25 mm automatic cannon and a machine gun. Meanwhile, Germany will provide Marder infantry fighting vehicles. These announcements were made the day after France announced that it would send Ukraine its AMX-10RC armored fighting vehicles, highly mobile wheeled systems built on the basis of a powerful 105 mm GIAT cannon mounted in the turret.
According to the statement made on January 5, Berlin will also join the United States in donating the battery of the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system of American production, as a result of which the number of Patriot air defense systems in Kiev will increase to two after the White House announced the transfer of one such system last month.
The decision to send modern infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine could pave the way for the supply of more powerful Western tanks, which American and European allies are still reluctant to do, according to experts and two American officials.
Among them may be German Leopard tanks or even M1 Abrams of the US Army, said experts and officials who spoke on condition of anonymity about the ongoing discussions.
Western tanks - unlike less powerful wheeled vehicles with small-caliber guns - will change the rules of the game for Kiev, which already uses Soviet-era tanks from its own reserves or provided after the invasion by other European countries. Leopard or Abrams are more mobile, accurate and have a longer range of destruction compared to the old Soviet tanks. They are also more effective for protecting troops than old tanks or even Western infantry fighting vehicles, as Ukraine continues to suffer heavy losses on the battlefield.
It is significant that when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked France for the AMX-10RC on January 4, he called on other allies to provide tanks and other heavy weapons.
"There is no rational reason why Ukraine has not yet received Western tanks," he said.
The 50 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles are part of a total U.S. aid package to be announced on January 6 for a total of $3.8 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter who wished to remain anonymous. The package provides for the allocation of $2.25 billion worth of property for Ukraine, including 155-mm artillery shells. Another $682 million will be used to finance military assistance for Eastern European countries to allow them to purchase American weapons and military equipment. Ukraine will also receive $225 million in military aid funding.
For the first time, the package will include Sea Sparrow anti-aircraft guided missiles with a radar guidance system that can be launched from the sea or from land to intercept aircraft or cruise missiles. According to two sources familiar with the matter, the Ukrainian military has managed to adapt its existing Soviet-era Buk missile launchers to fire Sea Sparrow missiles. Until now, Taiwan has been the only country operating a land-based version of the Sea Sparrow missiles, while the US Navy and several allied navies use a ship-based version.
Bloomberg previously reported that the US administration is considering sending Bradley BMP to Ukraine. According to the former commander of the US Army in Europe, retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, these vehicles are designed to work in tandem with Abrams tanks, providing "additional" capabilities.
"This is the administration's next step in providing something they didn't want to do in the past, so we hope this signals the administration's recognition that the Russians can't really escalate the situation every time we provide [Ukraine] with new opportunities," Hodges said.
Bradley infantry fighting vehicles alone could significantly increase the combat capability of the armed forces of Ukraine. The United States has already sent Ukraine more than 2,000 combat vehicles, including hundreds of MRAP and HMMWV vehicles that Kiev used to break through Russia's defense. But the "gold standard" of the US Army infantry fighting vehicle, the Bradley, is more mobile and better protected than the modifications of the M113 armored personnel carrier.
In addition to the Bushmaster 25 mm rapid-fire cannon, it is also armed with two TOW anti-tank guided missile launchers and a 7.62 mm twin machine gun.
"Bradley (M2/M3) is NOT a tank, but she can be a tank destroyer," tweeted another former commander of the US Army in Europe, retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling.
Bradley is also considered a less risky choice than Abrams for the US administration, which is still concerned about provoking Moscow. But on the battlefield it will be deadly, especially in interaction with Kiev tanks of the Soviet era, Hodges said.
"A big part of combined arms warfare is that you have protected infantry that can move alongside tanks, keep up with them, and that's part of what combined arms forces are: infantry armored artillery," Hodges said. "The fact that your infantry is moving with them makes it much more deadly."
American Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and French AMX-10RC, if deployed by spring just in time for the resumption of Ukrainian offensives in the east, will provide powerful new opportunities for Ukrainian forces. AMX-10RC in the past was used by French troops as a combat reconnaissance vehicle and tank destroyer, and its high mobility and speed would allow Ukraine to inflict strong and quick strikes in small fights. Its relatively light armor is a disadvantage compared to heavy Russian guns, but the key characteristic of this machine is speed.
"The French car has a lot of firepower, but it doesn't have enough protection," said an analyst at the British think tank Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) Nick Reynolds, - "Ultimately, it's a wheeled vehicle, which makes it vulnerable, even if it has pretty good off-road terrain." However, the gun of this machine can probably hit Russian T-72 tanks and IFVs.
One of the advisers to the Ukrainian government told POLITICO that Washington and Kiev have been negotiating for the supply of heavier armored vehicles for several months. One of the main stumbling blocks was determining which parts or storage bases [in the US] have suitable machines suitable for supply, along with some [American] concerns about modern optical and communication equipment used on new samples.
Last month, the Pentagon announced the expansion of its training program for the Ukrainian military at the US base in Germany, both in number and scale. The new program will expand training to a battalion of approximately 500 troops per month, and will also include training in joint infantry actions with artillery support, which is called "combined arms combat."
Now that the US administration has approved the delivery of Bradley infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine, students are likely to be trained for more effective actions together with the tanks and infantry they receive. According to Hodges, the Bradley is lighter and more maneuverable than a tank, and it can accommodate up to 10 military personnel who will be able to dismount from it with Javelin anti-tank missiles.
For Ukraine, Bradley and Western tanks will arrive not so soon. Zelensky said on January 3 that Russia was planning a second mobilization for a new major offensive earlier this year. And last month, Ukraine's top military commander, General Valery Zaluzhny, told The Economist that, in his opinion, Russia may attempt to seize Kiev as early as January.
Ukrainian officials are asking for hundreds more tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and howitzers to help repel Russian attacks, especially strikes on cities and civilian infrastructure.
"We are balancing on a fine line. And if [the power grid] is destroyed... then soldiers' wives and children will start freezing," Zaluzhny told The Economist. - "What kind of mood will the fighters be in, can you imagine? Without water, light and heat, can we talk about preparing reserves for the continuation of hostilities?"
However, the US administration is still reluctant to consider the supply of Abrams tanks due to the significant amounts of training and logistics required. Maintenance of tanks in the field will be a difficult task, especially without spare parts. A tank division can also consume up to 600,000 gallons of fuel per day, which could potentially slow down the Ukrainian advance.
The logistical requirements for Bradley are "much less burdensome than, say, those associated with M1," one U.S. official said. - "Our M1 will be a logistical burden that we would not like to place on [Ukraine] until they and we are sure that they are ready."
However, Hodges said that training and logistics problems are a "solvable problem" if the US starts training Ukrainian forces for these systems now.
"Let Ukraine select 100 tankers who are experienced tank mechanics, and then send them to train on the Abrams tanks deployed by the United States in Poland, or send them back to Fort Benning, Georgia, where the armored school is located, and let them start studying now," he said.
On the part of bmpd, we note that the possible use of old American naval anti-aircraft guided missiles of medium range Sea Sparrow with a semi-active radar guidance system for the Ukrainian Buk-M1 air defense system represents a very ingenious and creative solution to the issue with the ammunition of missiles for the armed forces of Ukraine, since modern Western missiles (such as AIM-120 AMRAAM) obviously, it is too expensive and scarce to use in combat operations in Ukraine on the necessary scale. At the same time, the United States obviously has large reserves of missiles from the obsolete Sea Sparrow naval air defense system being decommissioned.
Recall that Raytheon Corporation has been working for a long time, since the beginning of the 2000s, to adapt Sparrow family missiles with a semi-active radar guidance system to the Soviet Kub air defense system ("Square"), previously actively offering this combination to Eastern European countries operating the Kub air defense system, although as a result of the serial status it I didn't get it. Apparently, the current version of the integration of the Sea Sparrow missiles on the Buk-M1 air defense system is a development of these works.