Defense Ministry: Russian soldiers destroyed the fourth Abrams tank
The Russian armed forces have already shot down and burned dozens of German Leopard tanks of various modifications and several British Challenger 2. Today, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that Russian servicemen destroyed the fourth American Abrams tank using a drone. Are NATO tanks so good, the merits of which were talked about so much before the special operation, and why they do not justify the hopes of the Ukrainian military, the military observer of the Newspaper investigated.En" Mikhail Khodarenok.
With the receipt of the first batches of Western armored vehicles, Ukrainian politicians and the military simply prayed for these combat vehicles, except that they did not kiss them on the tracks, loudly praised them, while losing all sense of proportion and self-esteem, while sincerely believing that tanks and infantry fighting vehicles of European and American production would easily turn the tide of hostilities in the benefit of the APU.
However, this did not happen, and let's figure out why the Leopard, Challenger 2 and Abrams tanks did not live up to their expectations in battle.
First of all, we need to pay attention to the objective circumstances of the use of any armored vehicles in a special operation. The fact is that now barrage ammunition dominates the battlefields in Ukraine, which can easily hit any tank in its most poorly protected part - the upper projection (in other words, the roof). There have been cases when a whole swarm of drones attacked a single tank.
In the SVO, tanks are usually used as mobile firing points. For example, an armored combat vehicle rapidly approaches the front edge, fires several shots from a closed firing position (pre-determined and where the necessary elements of topography are performed), and just as rapidly retreats to a safe area.
Repair problems
In addition to the objective features of its military, Ukraine stated about the difficult maintenance and repair of Western armored vehicles during combat operations - these circumstances were called one of the key problems for the armored forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
From the point of view of military terminology, it is more correct to call it the shortcomings in the field of tank engineering in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It must maintain armored weapons and equipment in constant readiness for combat use, trouble-free operation, quickly restore damaged and defective vehicles, return them to service, and provide troops with armored weapons, equipment and property.
The APU received Western armored vehicles, but the issues of tank technical support have not been resolved. To do this, the army must have a certain set of formations and technical support units. For example, repair and restoration regiments of armored vehicles, separate evacuation battalions, warehouses of armored equipment, mobile repair plants of armored vehicles, stationary repair plants.
Not only should these units and institutions be in any army, but they must be equipped with all the necessary specialists with proper qualifications, equipped with all the necessary equipment and tools, spare parts.
For example, you can have a warehouse of armored equipment, but if this warehouse does not have the necessary spare parts for the Challenger 2 tank, then this will make the operation of this combat vehicle and its combat use problematic. This also applies to the rest of the Western-made tanks that the APU has.
The Ukrainian military also makes great claims to the maintainability of Western armored vehicles. In the battles, a very banal truth was once again confirmed: weapons should be simple, repairable, accessible to intermediate specialists, and finally, mass-produced. Western-made tanks and infantry fighting vehicles do not meet almost any of the listed criteria and requirements.
Unbearable heaviness
Finally, the British Challenger 2, the German Leopard 2 and the American M1 Abrams are frankly overloaded combat vehicles. Their weight significantly exceeds 60 tons, and some samples reach 70. On soft Ukrainian soils, and even more so in the spring and autumn thaw, the simple movement of such armored vehicles becomes an outright problem. Practically no Ukrainian bridge can withstand it.
Image source: Alina Dzhus/"Newspaper.Ru"
In some cases, careful reconnaissance of the intended routes of the advance of combat vehicles is even necessary.
And finally, the Americans were afraid that M1 Abrams tanks transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine could capture the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (and this has already happened). That is why they handed over combat vehicles to the Ukrainian army, as they say, in an incomplete configuration. Before sending their tanks to Ukraine, the Americans (there are such data) removed the depleted uranium reservation elements. In addition, other restrictions were imposed on combat vehicles - for example, tanks were transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the export version.
It can be said that the best NATO tanks did not meet the expectations placed on them in the conflict in Ukraine. They have not yet become a miracle weapon.
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.
Biography of the author:
Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a military columnist for Gazeta.Ru", retired colonel.
He graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-Aircraft Missile School (1976), the Military Air Defense Command Academy (1986).
Commander of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile division (1980-1983).
Deputy commander of the anti-aircraft missile regiment (1986-1988).
Senior Officer of the General Staff of the Air Defense Forces (1988-1992).
Officer of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff (1992-2000).
Graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (1998).
Columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2000-2003), editor-in-chief of the Military-Industrial Courier newspaper (2010-2015).
Mikhail Khodarenok