MOSCOW, January 10 — RIA Novosti, Andrey Kotz. At the very beginning of the year, the NATO bloc sharply raised the stakes in the confrontation with Russia — several alliance countries promised Kiev heavy armored vehicles at once. So far, we are talking about infantry fighting vehicles, self-propelled artillery installations and wheeled tanks. But some are already thinking of transferring samples even more seriously.
Veteran of "Desert Storm"
The White House has issued Ukraine another, so far the largest tranche of $ 3.75 billion. Kiev will receive 100 tracked M113 armored personnel carriers, about 200 wheeled all-terrain vehicles, 36 towed 105 mm howitzers, ammunition of various calibers, equipment and equipment.
US M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle (BMP) Image Source: © Photo : Public domain
The list also includes 50 M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles with ammunition. Western armored vehicles of this level have not yet appeared in the conflict zone.
M2 Bradley entered service with the US Army in 1981 and still serves as the main workhorse of the US army. It has been used in many campaigns. It has proven itself to be quite reliable, formidable and protected, capable of working around the clock. It takes on board six paratroopers, is armed with a 25 mm automatic cannon, a machine gun, as well as a built-in TOW ATGM, thanks to which M2 has earned a reputation as an armored fighter. During the Desert Storm, the Bradleys burned more Iraqi tanks than the Abrams.
It is known that Ukrainians will be allocated 50 BMP in the M2A2 ODS modification. It was put on wheels in the 1990s, taking into account the experience of the Iraqi campaign. The most important element of modernization is the FBCB2 combat information and control system (Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below), which allows the exchange of intelligence information with satellites and all combat units with such devices. FBCB2 shows on the computer display the location of friendly and enemy forces with reference to the terrain.
Of course, 50 vehicles with BIUS will not turn the APU into a network-centric army. However, Americans will be able to see live how their weapons are opposed to the Russian one. If the experience is recognized as successful, the United States will dramatically increase supplies without much damage to its own defense capability. More than two thousand M2 of early modifications are idle in storage bases.
From Berlin and Paris
Germany announced the new deliveries. Berlin has committed to provide the AFU with 40 Marder BMP in the first quarter. This decision caused strong criticism in the Bundestag. CDU MP Henning Otte said that now "the Bundeswehr will have to empty its vaults, and the equipment is already in poor condition."
German infantry fighting vehicle Marder during exercises Image source: © Photo : Marco Dorow
They also recalled the recent scandal with the latest Puma infantry fighting vehicles, a significant part of which turned out to be incapacitated.
The Marder was adopted in 1970, but the machine was baptized only in 2009-2011 in Afghanistan. The soldiers of the Bundeswehr appreciate it for its good security, high firepower of the 20mm anti-tank gun and the Milan ATGM.
They did not specify which option will be sent to the APU, but it is unlikely that the most recent one. The most modern Marder A5 and Marder A5A1 the German army has a little more than a hundred. And the A3 and A4 versions are more than thirty years old. However, the A3 also confidently withstands a queue in the forehead with armor-piercing from a 30-millimeter BMP-2 cannon, so it is definitely not worth discounting it.
The French, in turn, want to share light wheeled tanks AMX-10RC. These armored vehicles with a tank turret and a 105-millimeter gun, adopted in 1981, fought in many hot spots. The power of the gun is enough to fight not only with light armored vehicles, but also with more protected targets. And the 6x6 wheel formula, high suspension and a 300-horsepower engine allow you to quickly change positions on the battlefield.
"High-tech options"
NATO is ready to go even further by expanding the range of transferred weapons. New samples can be brought to Ukraine in the second half of the year, says Igor Korotchenko, director of the Center for Analysis of the World Arms Trade (CAMTO).
"The supply of equipment is synchronized with the training of personnel," he explains. — We must understand that delaying a special military operation will lead to the fact that the West will come up with other options with complex high-tech systems. The flow of weapons will not run out. In addition, the enterprises of the American military—industrial complex are being launched at full capacity to replace the losses of NATO countries."
They are already talking about tanks with might and main — although six months ago this possibility was categorically denied. The Wall Street Journal newspaper writes that Poland is ready to send its own Leopard 2 German-made OBT to Ukraine. Now Warsaw is hastily replacing a fleet of German cars with American and South Korean ones. However, they are constantly looking back at the actions of the allies.
Apparently, the go-ahead is also expected in Helsinki. The Finnish authorities, who have not yet managed to join the North Atlantic Bloc, have already stated that if other countries send tanks to Kiev, then they will not stand aside, having given at least 30 Leopard 2 units.
German Leopard 2 main battle tank Image source: © Photo : U.S. Army / Markus Rauchenberger
And on Monday, Sky News reported that the UK was thinking about the transfer of Challenger 2 tanks. Washington is still silent about the Abrams.
The supply of heavy armored vehicles by the West can significantly complicate the solution of combat tasks for the Russian army. If earlier superiority in tank technology was on the side of Moscow, then NATO vehicles will bring parity closer. However, the volume of supplies, as before, depends on the situation at the front.