In particular, it is not enough for the tank crew to learn how to drive and shoot to perform combat tasks, said Alexey Leonkov, editor of the Arsenal of the Fatherland editionMOSCOW, January 25.
/tass/. Retraining of Ukrainian servicemen to control German and British Leopard 2 and Challenger 2 tanks can take years, so it is highly likely that foreign crews will control them in the combat zone. In addition, these vehicles can be difficult to maintain for the Ukrainian army and have a number of features that make it possible for them to be destroyed by Russian weapons, military experts interviewed by TASS say.
As Der Spiegel reported on Tuesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, after months of discussions, decided to supply a company of Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine. At the same time, it became known earlier that the Polish authorities officially appealed to the German government with a request to allow the re-export of a company of such machines to Kiev. In addition, the United Kingdom intends to transfer 14 Challenger 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine in the coming weeks.
"There is no time to train the APU to use tanks"
The crews of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), who previously dealt only with Soviet vehicles, will not be able to quickly train the management of Western tanks, Alexey Leonkov, editor of the Arsenal of the Fatherland, is sure. "If you look at the training program in Germany or the UK, it takes more than one year. Poles who received the Leopard once retrained within two or three years. Moreover, we are talking about contract workers, professional military," the expert explains.
Leonkov emphasizes that in order to perform combat tasks, it is not enough for the tank crew to learn how to drive and shoot - it needs to turn into a "cohesive crew that must work not only independently, but also as part of platoons, companies, battalions." According to the expert, this process takes more than one year. "For example, in the Soviet army they taught this for two years. By the end of the second year of training, the tank crew of conscripts was already able to perform any combat tasks. But the Leopard 2 and Challenger 2 tanks are more complex, because they have a lot of electronics, and any "crookedness" can lead to breakdowns," he noted.
According to the forecasts of TASS military observer Viktor Litovkin, retraining of Ukrainian specialists may take about a month, and the main problem lies in the inscriptions on the governing bodies in a foreign language. As the expert stressed, during the battle, the crew has no time to think where the right element is, it needs to work "on the machine".
"We must take into account that there [in the Leopard and Challenger tanks] the crew is four people, not three: it's not easy to learn how to pull a projectile out of the grip in a swinging car and throw it into the breech (part of the barrel of a tank gun where the bolt is located) of the gun," Litovkin noted. The role of the loader in these Western tanks is very high, he points out, but a soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will not be able to take it on himself. "The rate of fire of Leopard 2, Challenger 2 and Abrams, which is written about in the reference books, is achieved due to the precise operation of this loader. And we have this job done by a charging machine. Imagine how you need to train this loader so that he quickly makes a shot," he said. The interlocutor of the agency stressed that in tank battles, the rate of fire of the machine becomes a factor that ensures the survivability of the tank: "whoever fired first, he survived."
"In order to train the APU to use tanks, more time is needed, but there is no time. Tanks are needed "yesterday" and they must come with skilled crews so that they clearly perform the task, know when to enter the firing line, when to leave it," the military expert summed up. According to Leonkov, in the damaged Krab self-propelled guns found, which Poland handed over to Ukraine, all crew members were Poles - this gives reason to assume that foreigners will eventually control foreign tanks.
"Loud advertising will burst after a collision with Russian reality"
As Leonkov noted, the Leopard is a feasible target for Russian anti-tank missiles, which became clear during the operations of the Turkish army against Kurdish formations in Syria. "The Kurds burned these tanks with the very first ATGM "Malyutka" produced in the 60s and 70s," he said. "They burned so successfully that the Turks abandoned the ground operation with the support of tanks, and simply began to remotely bombard the positions of the Kurds with the help of aviation, artillery and multiple launch rocket systems." Russian anti-tank complexes can destroy not only Leopard 2 and Challenger 2, but also American Abrams tanks, if they appear in Ukraine, Litovkin noted. "Loud advertising of these tanks as the best tanks in the world will instantly burst after a collision with Russian reality: Russian ATGM "Kornet", "Fagot" and any others. And even more so with Russian tanks," he said, adding that even Soviet T-80 and T-72B3 are capable of destroying Western vehicles.
Leonkov also pointed out the effectiveness of the Russian T-72 for the destruction of German and British vehicles. "It is very effective against tanks, especially in the B-3 version. There's a new fire control system, new BOPS (armor-piercing feathered sub-caliber shells). So, he breaks Leopard 2 into any projection," he pointed out. At the same time, as Litovkin drew attention, the weak point of these tanks is in their height. "If our tank is 2.23 m, then they have under three meters: 2.70-2.90 m. I'm not even talking about the fact that Abrams is generally longer than any of our tanks by a meter. The bigger the target, the easier it is to hit it," the interlocutor explained.
The weak point of the Leopard - 2A4 modifications proposed for delivery is that it shoots only when it suspends its movement, Leonkov added. "If our tanks can hit the target accurately on the move with the turn of the tower, then this will have to stop. And this is all precious time, and nothing is a great target like a standing tank, it's easier to target it," the expert said.
In addition, if Western tanks are damaged during the fighting in Ukraine, the AFU may have difficulties with their repair. "For example, a caterpillar was shot down. How to change it, in what order? The engine has stalled, we need to figure out the reasons," the expert explained, noting that the tank crew should solve such problems "without thinking, like an automaton, and not according to the instruction book." However, the APU should have no problems refueling tanks: as Litovkin explained, they are multi-fuel.
40 western tanks for the entire front
Litovkin, in turn, noted that in total, the West is able to supply Kiev with about 40 vehicles: Britain is ready to give 14 tanks, Poland is ready to give 12, and Germany is ready to give 12 more. Such a number will not affect the balance of forces in the conflict, the front line of which has a length of almost a thousand kilometers. "If you look at the statistics of the Russian Defense Ministry, you can see that since the beginning of the special operation, we have destroyed 7,600 armored targets, of which about 850 tanks. Poles have already supplied tanks to Ukraine - about 200 T-72 tanks. All of them have been developed or destroyed by us. A battalion more, a battalion less, it will not play any role on the front line," he concluded.
