A U.S. Army M1A2 Abrams tank arrives for European exercises at at the Baltic Container Terminal in Gdynia, Poland, on December 3, 2022.

A U.S. Army M1A2 Abrams tank arrives for European exercises at at the Baltic Container Terminal in Gdynia, Poland, on December 3, 2022. MATEUSZ SLODKOWSKI/AFP via Getty Image

US to Send 31 M1 Abrams Tanks to Ukraine

They will join “hundreds” more armored vehicles arriving amid concerns about an anticipated Russian offensive.

The United States will send Ukraine 31 M1 Abrams tanks—enough to arm a battalion—after training their crews in the months ahead, senior White House and defense officials announced Wednesday. 

Combined with promised deliveries of U.S. Bradley Fighting Vehicles and other countries’tanks, light tanks, and other armored vehicles, one senior administration official said, Ukrainian forces will soon receive “hundreds” of armored vehicles of various types. 

The announcement came one day after German officials said they would provide 14 German-made Leopard 2 tanks, in coordination with Poland and other allies who will send their own Leopards. Their ultimate goal is to send Ukraine 88 tanks, enough for about two battalions. 

A senior defense official told reporters Wednesday, “In the weeks, and really the days leading up to [the announcement], we did hear some major commitments by allies of additional armored vehicles and tanks, including the Challenger [2] tanks from the UK. Certainly, the U.S. and the Netherlands are still working to deliver 90 T-72 tanks, which we had refurbished and about half of those are arriving on the battlefields now. You also have France announcing their Amx-10 [RC] light tanks. And then in the armored vehicle category and the infantry fighting vehicle category, in addition to the U.S. Bradleys–and we're over 100 at this point–you also have the 40 Marders from Germany. And Sweden also has announced 50 CV90s. And there's a host of Soviet-era BMPs that were also announced. So you're going to see hundreds of armored vehicles, exceptionally capable vehicles, and tanks arriving in Ukraine.”

A senior administration official said that discussion between allies on how to help Ukraine has  intensified ahead of a possible Russian push to claim territory. 

“We do expect that Mr. Putin and the Russian military will try to go on the offense here in coming weeks and months, as the weather gets better,” the official said, adding that the administration aims to help Ukraine “have the ability to retake the to reclaim their sovereign territory. And that means everything that is recognized by international borders,” including Crimea.

The defense official said that the Abrams represent a “long-term commitment.” The United States will provid them through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, or USAI, as opposed to via presidential drawdown authority. That’s important because the USAI, as a funding mechanism, takes more time. But administration officials said that the goal is to enable Ukraine to maintain and use the tanks long-term. 

The defense official said, “Because this is a procurement under USAI, we're talking months as opposed to weeks. And as with other capabilities, you've seen us do this before, if we do not have [it] readily within U.S. stocks, then we go the procurement route to make sure that we can procure the right capability for Ukraine. And that is what we're doing here with the Abrams in terms of sustainment, maintenance, and training.” 

The official continued,“We will have the ability to put in place a very careful training program. But also a very careful program to be able to maintain and sustain these tanks, which do require a good deal…of assistance.” 

The United States will also send eight M88 recovery vehicles to service the tanks in the field. 

Executives from Abrams-maker General Dynamics said the company’s Lima, Ohio, production line can meet the demand of sending tanks to Ukraine if the U.S. decides to send them.

“Staffing is not an issue here. There is plenty of capacity on the combat vehicle side” of the company, for tracked and wheeled vehicles, CEO Phebe Novakovic said Wednesday on the company’s quarterly earnings call. “So to the extent that the U.S. government intends to execute any contracts with respect to some of these bilateral agreements they are developing, ... it’s well within the capacity of the industrial base to accommodate.”

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.