Implication for Germany or military calculations.. Why do American tanks need months before they reach Ukraine?

London 

- The war in Ukraine has entered a new turn, with Western countries announcing that they will send tanks to Ukraine, led by the United States, which announced the dispatch of dozens of the famous "Abrams" tanks, in addition to Germany's agreement to send "Leopard" tanks, all the way to Britain, which was the first in the war. Announcing the dispatch of its modern "Challenger" tanks.

The arrival of dozens of modern tanks to the Ukrainian army will help it in confronting the Russian army, which explains the overwhelming joy among the military leaders in Kyiv, had it not been for something that might disturb this joy, with a US military official announcing that the process of transferring Abrams tanks could take months. In addition to the expectation of British military officials that the "Challenger" tanks will not arrive until the beginning of spring, specifically the end of next March.

This situation means that the Ukrainian army will have to bear the pressure of the ongoing battles for an additional two months. It also opened more than one question mark about the reasons for this delay, and the ability of these tanks to change the course of the battles if they arrived after months, and the most important question is whether the Ukrainian army can withstand until the arrival of these tanks. tanks?

German tanks first

Professor William Alberk, Director of the Weapons and Strategy Program at the Center for International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), based in London, distinguishes between the arrival time of the "Leopard 2A6" tanks and the arrival of American tanks.

The military expert confirms that "it will be easy to transport German tanks because more than one European country has them, and their spare parts are available, and there are many European teams capable of repairing them in the event of a malfunction, and the process of training Ukrainian soldiers to use these tanks is underway in Europe now.

Why are the American tanks delayed?

According to Professor William Alberk - in his interview with Al-Jazeera Net - the United States will not send the latest version of the Abrams tank, but rather it may send the old version of the "M1" model, adding that the process of the arrival of more than 30 tanks to the Ukrainian army is linked to a number of factors "from Including the number of tanks currently in the stores of the US Army, and the possibility that these tanks need maintenance before being sent.

And the expert in weapons considered that the matter will not only stop at training soldiers in Ukraine to use these tanks, "but the US army will also train maintenance teams to deal with any malfunction or technical problems known to these tanks, and provide spare parts that the tanks will need, and all this takes time." significant".

The British professor points out another dimension in the late arrival of American tanks, which is that the goal was to persuade Germany to send Leopard tanks. The American policy is more political than a step that has great effectiveness in the course of the battles.

Will these tanks turn the balance of battles?

Answer: Yes, from the point of view of Professor William Alberk, and he explains this through several factors, the first of which is that "we are currently in a war of attrition with Russia's success in draining the Ukrainian forces in the middle of the Donbass region."

As for the second factor, according to the military expert, it is Russia sending more soldiers as well as T-64 tanks, which are old-made tanks, but they are large in size, in addition to the recent recruitment campaign, which provided the Russian army with an important human resource. Russia will soon launch a new recruitment campaign, which means more soldiers.

Alberk stresses that the "Leopard" tanks, especially the modern "2A5" and "2A6" models, "will serve as an antidote for the Ukrainian army to confront the strategy of attrition that Russia is currently carrying out," adding that Ukrainian soldiers will have an easier time dealing with these tanks compared to American tanks or tanks. British.

Benjamin Thales, senior researcher at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), agrees with Alberic's opinion that the German "Leopard" tanks "will change the rules of the game in the current battles, and that is why the Ukrainians are celebrating the German decision."

And the military expert added - in an interview with Al-Jazeera Net - that Ukrainian estimates indicate the need for 300 tanks to deter the Russian attack, "and it is certain that the influx of dozens of Western tanks will help the Ukrainian army to move faster, but it remains insufficient without strong air cover."

Regarding the reason for focusing on the German Leopard tanks, the same spokesman revealed that they "give the team that commands them a high degree of safety and the ability to launch long-range strikes so that the Russian tanks will not be able to approach them," continuing that these tanks "have the ability to withstand in the places of fire and the ability to monitor enemy targets, even if they are far away, which gives infantry soldiers an opportunity to advance.”