If you’re following the war in Ukraine with a decent level of interest, you’ve probably seen a lot of videos of Ukrainian tanks operating on the front lines. In many cases, those are Western-made tanks, such as the German Leopard 2. Ukraine has a good batch of American M1A1 Abrams tanks as well, but we rarely see them in this video. It turns out that it could be because they are being used in a rather strange way.
M1A1 Abrams tanks on their way to Ukraine back in 2023. Image credit: Wikimedia
The M1A1 Abrams is a formidable weapon, up until recently employed by the US Marine Corps. It is a huge machine with very thick and tough armour and a powerful multi-fuel turbine engine. For months Ukraine kept asking the US to donate these tanks as support for its defensive effort. Eventually, the US agreed to supply 31 M1A1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine – the ones that used to belong to the Marines.
On 25 September 2023, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that the first Abrams tanks were already operating in Ukraine. However, although we’ve seen some pictures of them, they are not that visible in the open source material. It might be due to the tactics.
Forbes reports that although M1A1 Abrams tanks appeared in Ukraine last year, these tanks are still being used very carefully and are scarce. In fact, it could be said that M1A1 Abrams are not used as tanks in Ukraine, but rather as surveillance vehicles used to support other war machines.
The M1 Abrams main battle tank has the best array of sensors of all tanks currently operated by Ukraine, notes Forbes. This is largely due to the SADA-II thermal vision system. Thanks to it, the Abrams can identify targets at a distance of up to 8 km in natural darkness. In comparison, the modernized Russian T-72B tank at night can see targets at a distance of 2 km.
Abrams’ ability in this regard surpasses all other tanks that have appeared on the frontlines in Ukraine since the beginning of the war. The M1 Abrams is a superb fighting vehicle, but Ukraine has some heavy machinery to fight with. But it is also a uniquely great data-gathering machine – a unique tool in Ukraine’s arsenal at this moment.
The Abrams, of course, allows the identification of enemy units during the day as well. Because of its unique night vision capabilities and a great array of surveillance equipment, the M1A1 Abrams tanks in Ukraine are used not just as normal main battle tanks, but as a sensor platform to gather information for other tanks to use. This is very important, but it also means that the defenders of Ukraine do not want to risk losing their existing Abrams. That is why they keep them away from the contact line.
Ukraine is suffering from a lack of ammunition. It is also waiting for new military aid to arrive. Hopefully, these issues can be resolved quickly and the Abrams tanks can be unleashed to push ahead and storm the Russian positions. Until then they will be gathering info and passing it to other machines.
Written by Povilas M.
Sources: Tech.wp.pl, Wikipedia