Australia has accomplished a categorised operation to ship M1A1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine.
Supply: ABC Information
Particulars: ABC Information secured unique entry to the mission of the Australian Defence Drive (ADF) in Poland.
The handover covers 49 M1A1 Abrams tanks that beforehand served with the Australian Military. The primary 37 arrived in Poland in July and an extra 12 came to visit the previous two weeks. The tanks had been transferred to Ukraine after closing technical checks.
ADF personnel arrange a short lived upkeep hub in Poland to examine and put together the automobiles, together with checks on turrets, weapons techniques, optics techniques and the tracks. Getting ready every batch took about seven days.
The ultimate cargo left the Australian metropolis of Geelong in October 2024 on a specialised cargo vessel. The ocean journey took 55 days earlier than the automobiles had been delivered to Europe.
Transferring the M1A1 Abrams required separate US approval underneath Worldwide Site visitors in Arms Rules (ITAR), the American export management guidelines, as a result of the tanks are a US platform.
ABC Information reported earlier on considerations raised by US officers in regards to the logistics and upkeep of the tanks in Ukraine.
"The M1A1 is a extremely succesful platform nevertheless it, like every thing, takes some upkeep," stated Colonel James Smith, charged with overseeing Operation Kudu, which is the ADF's dedication to coaching for Ukraine.
Smith added that Australia ensured the automobiles had been totally technically prepared earlier than the switch.
Quote from Simon Anglim from the Division of Struggle Research at King's Faculty London: "The M1A1 Abram continues to be among the finest tanks on the planet, and it's nonetheless higher than something that the Russians have gotten."
Extra particulars: Anglim stated that the principle weak level is the highest armour on the turret and hull, a crucial issue amid widespread drone use.
In response to drone threats, Ukraine has used cage armour, parts of reactive safety and extra armour plates. Australia has transferred the tanks of their most elementary kind, with additional fitting-out and upgrades left to the Ukrainian aspect.
ABC Information studies that Australia has supplied about US$1.7 billion in army and monetary help to Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion.
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