After Heavy Losses of Ukrainian Abrams Tanks, Australia Pledges 49 More as Aid

<p >Australia has pledged to deliver 49 retired M1A1 Abrams tanks to the Ukrainian Army, replenishing the fleet after a U.S. supplied force of 31 of the vehicles delivered from September 2023 has taken extreme losses. Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy announced at a NATO defence ministers meeting in Brussels regarding the delivery: "These tanks will deliver more firepower and mobility to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and complement the support provided by our partners for Ukraine's armoured brigades – Australia has been steadfast in our support for Ukraine." The decision comes just weeks after Australia’s receipt of its first of 120 more capable M1A2 Abrams tanks from the United States, which will replace the older M1A1s. Where Ukraine’s previous M1A1s were built specifically for the country, those delivered from Australia have been in service for decades and are considered at the end of their service lives, meaning they will require considerably more maintenance to remain operational. </p><p ><img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/10/17/article_67105728c0a952_57812076.png" title="Ukrainian Abrams Tank Hit By Precision Guided Artillery Early May"></p><p >Australia’s decision to provide M1A1 Abrams tanks comes as many Ukraine’s supporters within NATO have refrained from further deliveries of main battle tanks due to growing shortages within their own inventories. The extent of <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/ukraine-losing-abrams-fast">Ukrainian armour losses</a> in engagements with Russian forces has made this particularly detrimental to the country’s ability to sustain its war effort. Abrams tanks were <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/new-footage-shows-ukraine-s-u-s-supplied-abrams-tanks-in-first-combat-images-indicate-possible-combat-loss">first seen</a> deployed on February 23, with the first loss <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/footage-destruction-abrams-ukraine">confirmed</a> three days afterwards, followed by a period of intensive losses from late February to mid-April. The vehicles were temporarily <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/ukrainian-army-withdraws-abrams-losses">withdrawn</a> from the frontlines in April, with Ukrainian personnel have highlighted their <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/dissatisfied-abrams-losses-technical-issues">dissatisfaction</a> with the Abrams’ performance, citing both technical issues such as vulnerability of electronic components to condensation, as well as their vulnerability to Russian fire. Over 20 of the 31 Abrams tanks delivered to Ukraine are now thought to have been destroyed, disabled or captured, with most kills on film being achieved <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russian-army-takes-out-another-ukrainian-abrams-tank-with-guided-artillery-shot">by guided artillery</a> or <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/footage-taking-out-abrams-ukraine">by single use ‘kamikaze’ drones</a>. One of the tanks was confirmed to have been <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russian-t72b3-abrams-ukraine">achieved by a Russian T-72B3</a> tank after the two exchanged fire near Avdiivka.</p><p ><img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/10/17/article_671057577fa3a4_48463966.png" title="Up-Armoured Abrams Tank Disabled in Kursk"></p><p >The Abrams has not fared worse than other Western tank classes supplied to Ukraine, with the German Leopard 2A6 <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/leo2a6-destroyed-ukraine-bradleys" >first deployed</a> on the frontlines in June 2023 during mass Ukrainian offensives against Russian frontline units, before being filmed taking <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/footage-confirms-abrams-destruction" >heavy losses</a>. In January 2024 it was confirmed that the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russia-majority-ukraine-leo2" target="_blank">majority of Leopard 2s</a> operated by the Ukrainian Army had been rendered inoperable in combat with Russian forces, with over one quarter totally destroyed and the remainder damaged beyond the Army’s ability to repair them. Footage confirming <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/leopard2a6-destroyed-footage-kursk" >significant losses</a> has continued to emerge ever since. Multiple Abrams and Leopard 2 tanks have been <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/captures-leopard2a6-abrams" >captured</a> by Russian forces, with footage confirming that vehicles captured relatively intact have been <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/footage-captured-leo2a6-study" >studied</a> at facilities in the country, providing insight into their performance limitations. Russian forces’ own long range anti tank capabilities were improved significantly from mid-2024 following the <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2024/08/north-korea-closes-russias-anti-tank-missile-gap-with-ukraine/" target="_blank">delivery of North Korean Bulsae-4</a> anti tank missiles, which provide a very long 10 kilometre engagement range and fire and forget and top attack capabilities far superior to existing Russian anti tank missiles. The Bulsae-4 has been filmed neutralising Ukrainian artillery systems, with expected larger scale deliveries potentially significantly further increasing rates of Ukrainian armour losses.</p>