US Abrams tanks failing in Ukraine as Russia mocks them as ‘empty tin cans’
America’s Abrams tanks are failing on the battlefield in Ukraine as Russia has labelled them “empty tin cans”.
Relevant text:
Ukrainian crews say the fundamental problem is that the Abrams were built for advances aided by air power and artillery, which Ukraine lacks.
Russia, meanwhile, continues to make heavy use of drones in its attacks, which the Abrams struggle to defend against.
There a lot of factors in to why the Abrams isn’t doing as well in Ukraine. Like the article stated, drone attacks are a new threat that no older tank was designed for. Then there is the lack of training. The US has trained a lot with these tanks and know their weaknesses and develop their tactics with this knowledge in mind.
So why did they send them to Ukraine?
Because
<checks notes>
money, the answer is moneyBecause it’s good to get rid of old equipment, at least from the military’s perspective. They get money for the old hardware and now can justify getting more new stuff.
Right, they need close air support, infantry support, scouts, supply chain logistics etc. all working together to be peak effective. If you just give some dudes an Abrams and a crash course in driving it and firing the main gun, they will be better off than the same crew of randos in a technical made out of a Toyota Tacoma, but they will still be vulnerable to modern threats.
It's easy to understand why the modern drone threat is uniquely game-changing if you think of war like chess. Most advanced powers have now figured out that having a developed drone program is like giving yourself infinite pawns. You keep trading pawns for the opponents more valuable pieces. If Russia is able to spend a few thousand in drone hardware and explosives and destroy a multimillion dollar tank, they'll make that trade any day.
and yet old Soviet tanks are doing fine in Ukraine https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/russias-t-72-main-battle-tank-why-it-might-still-be-best-earth-211037
There could be many reasons. I don’t know where they are deploying them, how much training the crews have had and many others that factor into survivability. I’m not saying the Abrams is the best tank ever, just saying that there are many factors that can contribute to why they aren’t doing well in the field for the Ukraine.
