A Ukrainian assault regiment said on Thursday that it is now using donated M-1 Abrams tanks. This would be the second Ukrainian unit to have received the tanks since they first started arriving in the country two years ago.
The 425th Assault Regiment Skala announced the arrival of the tanks on its Facebook page. Until now, the 47th Mechanized Brigade Magura was the only Ukrainian unit operating these tanks. Skala, deployed to the Pokrovsk region of eastern Ukraine, is fighting some of the toughest battles of the war.
All indications are that Skala is operating Abrams tanks donated by Australia, the first batch of which arrived in Ukraine in July. Of the 31 M1s donated by the U.S., at least 22 have been lost, according to the Oryx open source tracking group. The Abrams losses are likely even be higher, because Oryx only accounts for instances where there is visual proof.
As we reported last October, Australia announced it would provide Ukraine with 49 M1s, a significant boost for Kyiv’s armored units, as they continue to face down Russia’s full-scale invasion. Because the tanks were originally sold to Australia by the United States, Washington had to approve the transfer to Ukraine.
The Australian Army was able to give up its M1A1 fleet because it is receiving 75 new M1A2 Abrams, in the highly capable SEPv3 variant. You can read more about Australia’s $2.5-billion M1A2 acquisition here.
“They have been upgraded to the M1A1 AIM SA version and received a number of regional modifications to meet customer requirements,” the outlet noted. “These vehicles have a new armor package without depleted uranium. The AIM SA electronics package includes a digital fire control system, thermal imaging and communications equipment better than that of the basic M1A1, as well as a satellite navigation system.”
DU armor is classified and tightly export controlled. Export variants are not equipped with it. The U.S.-supplied Abrams had to be reworked to remove the classified DU armor. Australia’s M1s are export configuration without it by default. You can read read more about DU armor in one of our stories here.
In addition, “the gas turbine engines of the Australian tanks have been reconfigured to use diesel fuel instead of JP-8 aviation kerosene,” which is standard for tanks provided by the U.S., Miltarnyi added. “This should simplify logistics for the Ukrainian army, whose armored vehicles are also standardized for diesel.”
An Australian Army M1A1 Abrams tank from the 2nd Cavalry Regiment and an Australian Army soldier from the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment during Exercise Brolga Sprint 24 at Townsville Field Training Area, Queensland, in June 2024. Australian Department of Defense TPR Dana Millington
It is unknown yet if these tanks have actually made it to the battlefield. Skala’s video announcing the Abrams’ arrival uses archival video from the 47th Brigade, Militarnyi noted.
The utility of tanks on the drone-saturated battlefields of Ukraine has been questionable, given how vulnerable those on both sides of the fight have been, especially to the highly maneuverable first-person view drones. There were even unconfirmed reports that Ukraine temporarily withdrew its Abrams from the fight after losing so many. You can see one such encounter in the video below.
����
����
An Abrams tank withstands 9 FPV drones hits. Eventually, the tank was destroyed, but the tank crew successfully survived. pic.twitter.com/4NBKdg2zmW
Still, they have been playing a role in the fight for Pokrovsk, a key Ukrainian logistics hub and part of a defensive belt of towns in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. That’s where Russia has expended large amounts of personnel and equipment to capture small segments of territory.
“Since late last year, [Ukrainian troops] have been receiving deliveries of refurbished German-made Leopard 1A5 tanks,” Radio Free Liberty reported in February. “Soldiers on the front lines say the updated vehicles are highly maneuverable and give them an edge on the battlefield.”
Leopard variants are still in the fight for Pokrovsk.
Last week, a video emerged on social media of one of those tanks obliterating a building where a Russian sabotage group was holding out.
It is unclear just how many Abrams Skala has received or how far along its troops are in the training process. However, given the tough fight in Pokrovsk, chances are we will soon see video emerging of these hulking armored weapons entering the fray.
Comments