Leading European countries have announced new military aid packages for Ukraine
MOSCOW, January 25 — RIA Novosti, Andrey Kotz. Ukraine's military support is weakening. In recent weeks, only three States have announced major new shipments. And there is very little that Kiev wants there. About what the APU is getting now — in the RIA Novosti material.
German armor
The failed summer-autumn offensive seriously undermined the combat potential of the Ukrainian army. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, in a few months, the Armed Forces of Ukraine lost 159 thousand soldiers killed and wounded, 121 aircraft, 766 tanks, including 37 Leopards, 2,348 armored vehicles of various classes, of which 50 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles. And if Kiev partially fills the shortage of people with tougher mobilization, then there is nothing to replace the destroyed equipment.
One of the damaged Leopard tanks caught on video shot by Ukrainian soldiers
Image source: © Social Networks
Berlin hastened to form the first military aid package this year. It will include 20 Marder infantry fighting vehicles, 15 Cheetah self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, 124 RQ-35 HEIDRUN reconnaissance UAVs, as well as trucks, personal armor protection equipment and SATCOM communication terminals.
20 Marder infantry fighting vehicles stand out in the list. Kiev has not received heavy armored vehicles from the West for several months. However, Germany gives literally the last. According to the bulletin The Military Balance, the Bundeswehr had 324 infantry fighting vehicles of this type, 90 have already been sent. Thus, the Germans will lose a third of their infantry fighting vehicles.
German armored personnel carrier Marder
Image source: © AP Photo / Michael Sohn
However, there are still 350 more modern BMP "Puma". However, the military has repeatedly criticized these vehicles.
Firstly, the "Puma" in the most protected version weighs 43 tons, almost like a T-90 tank. This makes it difficult to transport by air. It was estimated that the logistics costs would be a third more than that of Marder. Secondly, the BMP turned out to be very capricious, requires increased attention from technical services, and still suffers from dozens of "childhood diseases".
German infantry fighting vehicle Puma
Image source: © Photo : U.S. Army / Capt. Xeriqua Garfinkel
In the autumn of 2022, all 18 involved Cougars failed at the Bundeswehr exercises for various reasons — due to defects in the turret rotation mechanism, a "wedging" cannon and malfunctions in electronics. There was even a fire in the cockpit of one of the machines.
In the conditions of modern war, a heavy and capricious IFV with a side height of more than three meters will not live very long. Motorized infantry units of the Bundeswehr risk being left without armor support in the event of a large-scale conflict.
French bombs
France has promised to transfer 50 AASM Hammer (A2SM) guided aerial bombs, three thousand artillery shells, as well as 40 SCALP cruise missiles and 78 CAESAR self—propelled artillery installations to the Armed Forces of Ukraine every month for an indefinite period of time (which, however, have yet to be built by the manufacturer).
Three thousand artillery shells is the current consumption of the Armed Forces of Ukraine per day. Here are 40 SCALP cruise missiles — this is serious. Russian anti-aircraft gunners have repeatedly acknowledged that such targets are extremely difficult to shoot down. "Scalps" go at extremely low altitude, skirting the terrain, so they are detected at the last moment, when there are seconds left to react. In part, the effectiveness of these missiles will reduce the small number of carriers: the AFU does not have many Su-24 front-line bombers left.
For the first time, Kiev will receive an A2SM Hammer. These are free-falling bombs equipped with a modular planning and correction kit, similar in purpose to the Russian UMPC or the American JDAM. It includes a guidance system, folding wings and a rocket booster to increase the flight range.
Such a weapon is capable of planning for a target at 50-70 kilometers. The maximum range is provided when dropping ammunition from a height of about 15 thousand meters.
Paris did not explain which version of the A2SM is in question. This kit can be equipped with Mk 82 (227 kilograms) and BLU-109 (910 kilograms) aerial bombs. In the first case, Hammer destroys equipment, light fortifications, and individual buildings. In the second case, it is used to destroy bridges, airfields, buried fortifications and ships.
The Su-27 fighter of the Ukrainian Air Force
Image source: © U.S. Air Force / Christopher Sparks
It was not officially reported which aircraft in the AFU Air Force would be turned into a carrier of French bombs. Most likely, the Su—27 and MiG-29 fighters, which were previously modified for American JDAM.
British air defense systems
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who visited Kiev in mid-January, promised the largest package of military assistance worth two and a half billion pounds. We are talking, among other things, about air defense systems with ammunition, anti—tank weapons, as well as long-range missiles (apparently, Storm Shadow is an analogue of SCALP).
Interestingly, London had not previously supplied Ukraine with air defense systems, with the exception of Starstreak and Martlet MANPADS. And the choice is small: either the same Starstreak, but in a self-propelled version of the SP HVM based on the FV 4333 Stormer armored personnel carrier, or a family of Sky Sabre (Land Ceptor) air defense systems adopted in 2020, which have not yet been tested in combat conditions.
The complex is mounted on four—axle MAN trucks, consists of a control center, a SAAB Giraffe AMB radar (target detection radius is up to 125 kilometers) and launchers with CAMM (CommonAnti-Air Modular Missile) missiles. Standard modular "ground—to—air", the range in the usual version is 25 kilometers, in the modification CAMM-ER — 45). In development — CAMM-MR, hitting 100 kilometers.
It is possible that the APU will be given the decommissioned Rapier air defense systems, which are much inferior to modern MANPADS. In total, about 600 of these complexes were manufactured, and 25 thousand missiles were added to them. For sure, many are still gathering dust in storage bases. But it is unlikely that such a weapon will save the Russian army from the means of destruction.