Modern tanks, promised by the West to strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities and capable of changing the pace at the front, according to German and British officials, will be launched in March.

Yes, Britain hopes that the Challenger 2 tanks it supplies to Ukraine will arrive in the country at the end of March, Defense Minister Alex Chokl said on Thursday.

Earlier this month, Britain said it would send 14 of its main battle tanks to Ukraine, along with additional artillery support.

“We plan for it to be at the end of March,” he said in the parliament, answering a question about when the tanks will arrive in Ukraine.

He said that from now on Ukrainian forces will be intensively trained in how to drive and maintain vehicles.

Other countries, including the United States and Germany, pledged to supply tanks this week, a move that pleased Kiev and Ukrainian authorities saw as a potential turning point in the fight against the Russian invasion.

When will the German Leopard 2 tanks arrive

So, after much debate and pressure, Germany officially confirmed on Wednesday that it will send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, a main battle vehicle that could play a vital role in the war launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

As for when they can arrive in Ukraine, Germany reported that “at the end of March-beginning of April.”

“By the end of January” training of the Ukrainian military in the use of Marder light armored vehicles should begin in Germany.

Training of the Ukrainian military in the use of Leopard tanks will take place “a little later”, German Minister Boris Pistorius said.

Berlin is to provide Kiev with 14 Leopard 2A6 tanks from the Bundeswehr (German army) and has decided to authorize its Western allies, who have these German-made tanks, to do the same.

Poland and Norway said they are ready to supply Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks.

The press writes that Denmark and the Netherlands, as well as Finland, are part of a coalition of countries ready to supply this armored vehicle.

Spain confirmed that it “wants” to deliver this tank top to Ukraine.

According to the German government, the goal is to create, together with partner countries, “two tank battalions equipped with Leopard 2 tanks for Ukraine.”

We are talking about 80-90 tanks.

More moons for Abrams tanks

The White House said on Wednesday that it could take many months for the powerful US Abrams tanks that President Joe Biden promised to Kiev on Wednesday to arrive in Ukraine.

The US also waited a long time to make this decision to send Abrams tanks. US President Joe Biden was even asked at a press conference whether Germany forced him to make the decision to send Abrams tanks to Ukraine.

This is in view of the fact that earlier in the media there were reports that Germany would allow Ukraine to supply Leopard tanks if the USA provided Kyiv with Abrams tanks, information that the Germans deny.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said today’s decision had been “several weeks” in the making.

Although the decision has been mulled over for “several weeks,” Kirby also said it would likely take “weeks, not months” to complete the M1 Abrams training plan, though he reiterated that acquiring the tanks and completing such training will take months.

Thus, the first tanks to arrive in Ukraine will most likely be Challenger 2 tanks, with the British showing a closer schedule, both for training the Ukrainian military and for introducing heavy weapons into battle.

Characteristics of the Leopard 2 tank

Each tank has a 120 mm gun and a 7.62 mm machine gun;

It can reach a speed of 70 km per hour or 50 km per hour off-road, making maneuverability one of its key characteristics;

The Leopard 2PL tank is equipped with a 1,500-horsepower engine, which has a range of 300 kilometers, “on the road” – up to 500 kilometers;

It has the advantages of an infrared firing system;

According to German manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, it also has full protection against threats including improvised explosive devices, mines or anti-tank fire.

Characteristics of the Abrams tank

The M1 Abrams tank entered service with the US Army in 1980, becoming the successor to the M60 model. The M1 Abrams is currently the main battle tank of the US Army and Marine Corps, the armies of Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Australia, and Iraq (as of 2010). The tank is designed for operation until the 2050s with a service life of almost 70 years.

Three versions of the M1 Abrams tank were developed: M1 (original model), M1A1 and M1A2. An improved version called the M1A3 is currently under development.

Abrams is 9.77 m long and 3.7 m wide. It can reach a speed of 72 km/h on the road and 48 km/h off-road, with a range of 500 kilometers.

The M1A1 version has a more powerful 120 mm gun (compared to the 105 mm in the base version).

The M1 has Burlington composite armor and a Honeywell AGT1500C gas turbine engine.

Challenger 2 tank

The crew consists of 4 people. Equipment: One 120mm L30A1 gun with 47 rounds and, as secondary armament, one twin 7.62mm L94A1 EX-34 machine gun and one 7.62mm L37A2 machine gun located in hatch near gun loader operator.

The L30 rifle is made of refined electroslag steel (ESR) and insulated with a thermal sleeve.

The turret can rotate 360°.

It has a range of 550 km on the road and a top speed of 59 km/h.

Sources: Reuters, News.ro, HotNews, Wikipedia, army-technology.com, defenddb.com

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