Australia is finally sending 49 M1A1 tanks to Ukraine, amid concerns over battlefield effectiveness and logistics; doubts remain about their sustainability in combat conditions.
The 49 American-made M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks (MBTs) that Australia pledged to send to Ukraine may finally be on their way after several months of delays due to US protests. Canberra had been waiting for approval from Washington due to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) agreement.
The Australian government previously notified the Biden Administration in September 2024, and efforts began to prepare the tanks for transfer.
The tanks were being loaded onto cargo ships and were set to begin the transit to Europe in the coming days. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky recently thanked Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in person during a meeting of the leaders in Rome.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) confirmed this week that the tanks were being loaded for transport, but reported, “The government will not discuss their current location or expected arrival date in Europe for security reasons.”
Why the US Was Halting the Australian Tank Transfer
Even as the 49 MBTs are beginning the long journey to Ukraine, the United States remains unofficially opposed to the transfer.
“Last year, even before Donald Trump returned as president, we warned the Australians that sending these Abrams tanks would be complicated, and once they finally get to the battlefield, the Ukrainians will find them difficult to sustain,” a US official told ABC, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Australia’s Minister of Defence, Richard Marles, would not confirm whether the concerns from US officials have been addressed.
“We’ve been working very closely with Ukraine, very closely with the United States, to see this shipment occur and to see the tanks be on their way,” he told reporters in Melbourne.
“The first tranche has been on its way for some time, but I’m not going to go into the specific details.”
Are the Australian M1A1 MBTs the Right Tanks for Ukraine?
There is no denying that Kyiv has significantly depended on assistance from the West, but there is also no denying that too much faith may have been put in the Western-made MBTs that began to arrive in Ukraine two years ago. Though the American M1 Abrams, German Leopard 2, and British Challenger 2 have all been described as among the best tanks in service, none have proven invincible.
Several of the 31 Abrams Washington provided to Kyiv have been lost in the fighting, but at least one was mainly captured intact and sent to Russia’s Uralvagonzavod research and development facility for evaluation.
There has been repeated speculation that Ukraine has also lost faith in the American-made tanks, which the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has denied. However, the Associated Press reported last year that the M1 Abrams were pulled from the front lines, citing a high risk of detection from Russian unmanned aerial systems (UAS), including loitering munitions.
A bigger issue may be a lack of maintenance options for the tanks.
The Abrams is a complicated machine, and even before the Biden Administration agreed to send the tanks to Ukraine, concerns were raised about whether Kyiv’s forces could keep the vehicles running.
That issue increased further as the United States suspended operations at a key logistics hub in Rzeszów, Poland. That facility processes around eighty percent of the Western military hardware bound for Ukraine.
Canberra has vowed to ensure the tanks’ delivery and sustainment. Yet, as the ABC reported, even as Australia has moved forward with delivering the M1A1 MBTs, the Albanese government faced criticism last year for denying Kyiv a request for the Australian military’s fleet of retired Taipan helicopters.
The Australian Ministry of Defence argued the aircraft would be “too complicated” to operate and maintain.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed over 3,200 published pieces to more than four dozen magazines and websites over a thirty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
Image Credit: Shutterstock/Robert Strain.
