The M1A1 Abrams tanks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be withdrawn from the front lines due to the use of drones by the Russian Ground Forces in recent weeks. In this regard, Ukrainian military authorities explained that the armored vehicles have been easily detected by unmanned aerial vehicles and subsequently attacked by them in conjunction with other artillery systems.
A total of 31 Abrams tanks were sent to Ukraine by the United States in January 2023 as part of the support for the Ukrainian military forces, which required the transfer of the M1A1 tanks as part of the vital capability to break through Russian defensive lines. At the time, the arrival had been slower than expected, as the Abrams tanks are highly complex to operate, maintain, and sustain, as well as requiring a well-oiled logistical chain for their operation, and high crew readiness. Months later, in October 2023, the United States confirmed that all tanks had arrived on Ukrainian soil.
However, the battlefield has changed since then with the intensive use of surveillance drones and various types of roving ammunition that have detected Ukrainian tanks and consequently resulted in, according to the latest estimates, five M1A1 tanks destroyed, damaged, or out of service out of the total 31 transferred by the United States. The proliferation of drones on the Ukrainian battlefield means that “there is no open terrain where one can move without fear of being detected,” a senior U.S. defense official told the press on Thursday.
According to reports, for the time being, the tanks have been withdrawn from the front lines, while Ukraine and the United States will work to improve tactics, emphasized Admiral Christopher W. Grady of the U.S. Navy and vice-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. Armed Forces. “We will work with our Ukrainian partners, and other partners on the ground, to help them think about how they might use that, in that kind of changed environment now, where everything is seen immediately,” added the official.
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