An American military expert asks:
Will the light tanks that the West send to Ukraine make any difference?
French tanks are expected to make a difference.
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Putin may have to change his dealings with the West.
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French President Emmanuel Macron surprised many observers last week by announcing that France would provide "light tanks" to help Ukraine fight Russia.
Similar commitments from the United States and Germany soon followed.
These systems will provide Ukrainian forces with important new capabilities, but they also present logistical obstacles and the potential for conflict escalation.
And the American military expert, Timothy J. MacDonald, says in a report published by the American Council on Foreign Relations, that to clarify, what France, America and Germany promised to provide are not tanks at all, as light tanks are in fact armored fighting vehicles that are smaller, lighter, and faster moving than battle tanks. the boss.
The French government has pledged to provide an unknown number of AMX-10RC armored fighting vehicles, while the United States and Germany will respectively provide about 50 Bradley fighting vehicles and 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles.
Less armor
Most light tanks are equipped with a main gun of smaller caliber than any regular tank and less armor.
Its main objective is to use it in a variety of roles, including troop transport, infantry support, anti-armor support, and reconnaissance.
In comparison, the M1 Abrams main tank is more heavily armored, and is equipped with a 120-millimeter cannon, to provide an increase in power and range, and is designed to surround and destroy enemy armor.
McDonald wonders if these vehicles will make any difference on the battlefield in Ukraine.
He says that to answer this question, there are tactical and operational levels of war that must be taken into account.
At the tactical level, the addition of armored vehicles will provide Ukrainian forces with greater mobility, speed, and protection in support of infantry operations.
The AMX-10 RC, Bradley and Marder are all-terrain and all-weather light tanks that will respond quickly to changing battlefield situations.
Depending on the weapon systems provided by Western countries, these light tanks can provide remote firing capabilities, allowing Russian tanks to be defeated by anti-tank missiles.
The efficiency of the Ukrainian army
At the operational level, the Ukrainian army has proven that it conducts combined arms operations efficiently.
This means that it can effectively synchronize infantry, armor, artillery, engineering and aviation capabilities in a single mission for a common objective.
The new systems will add to Ukraine's combined armed capabilities, but this will not happen overnight.
With these systems delivered to cope with an attack in the spring, they would require weeks of training to operate and maintain them.
It may need modifications to fit existing military doctrine, and the establishment of a logistical path for the provision of spare parts and repairs.
This is an important operation for a single weapons system, and adding three systems would make the operation more complex and potentially cause significant logistical challenges.
As for what this means for Russia, McDonald says the Russian military's reaction to the introduction of these Western armored vehicles will be something to watch.
The Russian army continues to use the old Soviet military doctrine and has not yet effectively used joint-arms maneuvers.
It also uses tiered leadership models without enabling decision-making at the lower level.
It is likely that the Russian army will try to add more weapons and soldiers to what is currently available.
But without any change in its tactical and operational approach, it will continue to suffer heavy losses and give up territory.
Providing these vehicles to Ukraine could have strategic ramifications, some of which will remain unknown for some time.
But it is fair to say that these vehicles could tip the balance of the fighting on the ground, which in turn would lead to an escalation of tensions between Russia and the West.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely to view the introduction of these systems as Western aggression.
It can be considered as crossing a red line, which leads to more hints and threats of using nuclear weapons.
• What France, America and Germany promised to provide are not tanks at all. Light tanks are in fact armored fighting vehicles that are smaller, lighter, and faster moving than main battle tanks.
• At the operational level, the Ukrainian Army has demonstrated that it conducts combined arms operations efficiently. This means that it can effectively synchronize infantry, armor, artillery, engineering and aviation capabilities in a single mission for a common objective.
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