US President Joe Biden officially announced the delivery of 31 M1 Abrams tanks, as well as additional equipment for them to Ukraine. Joe Biden said this during a briefing at the White House in the presence of Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. This was reported by Ukrinform.

“Today, I’m announcing that the United States will be sending 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, the equivalent of one Ukrainian battalion,” the US president said.

“Abrams tanks are the most powerful tanks in the world. They are also extremely complex to operate and maintain. So we’re also giving Ukraine the parts and equipment necessary to effectively sustain these tanks on the battlefield,” Biden added.

It is not yet clear what modification of the M1 Abrams we are talking about, where the US will get these vehicles from (from its own stocks, from the manufacturer or from the allies), and how quickly these tanks will end up in Ukraine. For example, Poland already has 28 fairly modern M1A2 SEPv2, but ordered 116 used M1A1 FEP and 250 state-of-the-art M1A2 SEPv3, which are all slightly different tanks. The cost of M1 Abrams tanks varies depending on the modification and can exceed $10 million.

Ukrainian crews will start training soon, probably in Germany or Poland. If Poland is mentioned, one can hope for M1A2 SEPv2. Together with the tanks, Ukraine will receive 8 M88 repair and evacuation armored vehicles and more than 500 units of armored vehicles.

Well, Challenger 2, Leopard 2 and M1 Abrams are already there. It remains to wait for the French Leclerc and the South Korean K2 Black Panther and the Armed Forces of Ukraine will have a tank poker in their pocket!

Thank you, USA!

M1A2 Abrams SEP v2 specifications
Mass – 64.6 tons
Length (cannon forward) – 9.77 m
Hull length – 7.93 m
Width – 3.66 m
Height – 2.44 m
Crew – 4 (commander, gunner, loader, driver)
Armor – composite armor
Main armament -120 mm L/44 M256A1 smoothbore gun (42 rounds)
Secondary armament – 1 × 12.7-mm M2HB machine gun (900 rounds), 2 × 7.62-mm M240 machine guns (10,400 rounds)
Engine – a Honeywell AGT1500 multi-fuel turbine engine
Power – 1,500 hp. (1 120 kW)
Transmission – Allison DDA X-1100-3B
Fuel capacity – 1,909 liters
Operating range – 426 km (highway), 150–200 km (off-road)
Maximum speed – 67 km/h (highway), 40 km/h (off-road)