They're stored as well as the Russian T-72As are: fields at worst and open air warehouses with a roof and not much else at best.
The War in the Ukraine
- Thread starter SampanViking
- Start date
The difference is that they’re stored in the desert, so they should be in better shape than those stores outside in eastern Europe.
If they crossed the open fields, it's over. They probably leveled the place in the past month...
There seems to be some dispute between Russian and Ukrainian sources as to how much progress Russian forces have made in Ugledar/Vuhledar .
Guess we'll find out soon enough.
Guess we'll find out soon enough.
True enough, but that's always the case these days. Hard to know who's maps are the most reliable.
If westerners are allowed to enter Russia then I seriously would love to visit. The Russians won't be shy to show civilians every single in and out of everything they capture.
I have this suspicion that worrying about service and logistics is looking beyond the lifespan of these vehicles when they reach the front line.
That's very interesting US is sending the 31 M1A2 instead of M1A1, and Germany is sending the 14 Leopard 2A6 instead of 2A4s. Basically, both sides view this as an advertising campaign for their respective MBTs so they need to send more modern versions than older versions or soon-to-be-discontinued versions. I also don't understand this discussion about manufacturing/backlog, this is only 31 M1A2s which likely will come from existing inventory, not a fresh batch production.
US law requires that the Abrams DU armor package be removed prior to export because that armor technology is classified as Secret. Similar to the legal prohibition on exports of the F22. Removing depleted uranium and replacing that armor is a complex and time consuming process and can only be performed by a single qualified vendor due to both the highly specialized nature of the work and the fact that its a radioactive & toxic substance. So even sending Abrams from storage would require a significant amount of work.
Any trained personnel, equipment, parts, & facilities General Dynamics already has committed to existing orders would also have to be diverted to make those Ukraine bound tanks fit for service. So there's a question of priority and whether you delay deliveries to other customers.
A diesel piston engine is quite more rugged than a turbine engine... it will just take some time to deliver them, better to have them in good working order. T-72 and other soviet damaged hulk could be salvaged in Urkraine, they have parts and know how but not these.
Patriot Park will be interesting, yes.
DU isn't export banned, though. Poland's M1A1 will keep their DU arrays.