Ukraine ‘Pulls Out’ US Abrams Tanks From The Frontline As Kyiv Loses 5 MBTs In Less Than 2 Months – US

By
Sakshi Tiwari
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Ukraine has pulled out US Abrams M1A1 tanks from the frontline, mainly due to Russian drone tactics, Pentagon officials have said. The proliferation of drones means “there isn’t open ground that you can just drive across without fear of detection,” a senior defense official said on Thursday. “Now, there is a way to do it,” he said. 

Delivering on their promise of total annihilation of the cutting-edge US-origin M1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks (MBTs), Russian forces have managed to destroy five of the tanks deployed by Ukraine in the war zone in less than two months.

When the first Abrams kill was reported, some pro-Russian military bloggers noted that the MBT, the cost of which roughly ranges between $5 million to $9 million, was struck by a $30,000 drone.

It is no surprise that the Russians used an FPV (First-Person View Drone) to obliterate a tank, a practice prevalent on both sides of the combat. In fact, a video surfaced on social media yesterday showing an Abrams MBT on fire after being struck by the Lancet UAV in the Avdiivka region.

The video, as shown below, captures the moment the tank’s ammunition detonated. EurAsian Times could not confirm whether the destruction was new or an old video posted today.

The Russian MoD recently provided details of an elaborate operation undertaken by one of its units in late March to obliterate the Abrams somewhere in the direction of Avdiivka, where intense combat has been raging for several months now. This was reported by Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

The servicemen of the “Center” group of troops spent three days in late March pursuing the American-built Abrams tank that they eventually destroyed using their inexpensive and popular Lancet suicide drone, in what they refer to as the “special operation zone,” the report noted.

The Russian Defense Ministry quotes the commander of a special-purpose platoon with the call sign “Igla” as saying, “We had been tracking the Abrams for three days. On the first day, we tracked it down and wanted to hit it, but the enemy defended the tank very seriously, and our drone was jammed by Ukrainian electronic warfare (EW) systems.”

The commander went on to say that he had to fly the drone frequently and constantly keep a vigil. The Abrams don’t stay in the same place and could be seen constantly changing their firing position, “or the tanks went to the rear area for refueling,” he added.

According to reports, aerial reconnaissance of the situation in the direction of Avdiivka was carried out by ZALA UAV operators. After finding the American-origin tank, the soldiers studied the enemy’s tank crew’s operating procedure as well as the air and radio-electronic conditions in the area of application.

Then, the operators meticulously chose the best weather window and time to accurately hit the American war machine with “Lancet” barrage ammunition. On the day of combat, we flew out very early and eventually found the target. We hit the target. Our work, although long and painstaking, brought results,” said the commander.

This operation, as detailed by the Russian MoD, likely led to the destruction of the fifth Abrams tank. If local media reports and open-source intelligence are anything to go by, the tanks were first deployed to Avdiivka in January this year before they were withdrawn in February following a Russian offensive.

Russia Targets Abrams

Citing unnamed senior US officials, the New York Times reported recently that five tanks had been destroyed and another three were moderately damaged since the beginning of this year. The Abrams were delivered to Ukraine by the United States in October last year.

ABRAMS
File Image: Destroyed Abrams Tank

The newspaper reported that drone warfare has “begun taking a deadly toll on one of the most powerful symbols of American military might” and that Russian strikes had also targeted German Leopard tanks, destroying at least 30 of them.

“Depending on their size and technological sophistication, the drones can cost as little as $500 — a paltry investment for taking out a $10 million Abrams tank,” the NYT said.

As the Ukrainians withdrew from the wreckage of Avdiivka and formed a new defensive line a few miles to the West, the M-1s were right in the middle of the combat. The 47th Brigade and nearby units of the Ukrainian Army halted the Russian attack there.

On or before February 26, a Russian first-person-view drone ‘Piranha’ struck the ammo compartment of the Abrams tank, igniting a fire that eventually destroyed it and resulted in the unit’s first M1 Abram loss.

A representative of the Piranha design bureau in Ulyanovsk said, “I received this information from a customer who communicated with the commander of the battalion team that had hit the tank. He said that it was our Piranha. Then, this information appeared in news stories and Telegram channels showing footage of the burning Abrams.”

The Russian forces used the tank’s destruction as a springboard, pushing hard inside Avdiivka and taking control of the town. Yan Gagin, the advisor to the leader of the Donetsk People’s Republic, emphasized that any new weaponry sent by the West to the Kyiv administration was susceptible as soon as the demolition report was made public.

The eight sensors on the EW module are seen atop the T-72B3’s turret. Source: Telegram.

It turns out he was right. Just a few days after the first Abrams kill, the Russian MoD said a T-72B3 main battle tank destroyed an American M1A1 Abrams in a direct engagement near Avdiivka on March 5-6.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense (RuMoD), the second hit involved a direct duel with a Russian T-72B3.

“A T-72B3 tank crew destroyed a US-made Abrams with the first shot,” the RuMoD said. The destruction happened as part of a larger engagement in which Russia’s Tsentr Group of Forces clashed with the AFU (the Armed Forces of Ukraine) in the “Avdiivka direction.”

Around the same time, reports of the destruction of a third of Abrams in the region ravaged the internet, this time by an Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM). Reports in TASS at the time stated that the tank was destroyed by a soldier who had been awarded the title of Hero of Russia.

After a lull, another Abrams tank (the fourth of the 31 total delivered to Ukraine) met the same fate on March 20 when the Russian MoD announced that the Russian forces destroyed a fourth US-made Abrams tank belonging to the Ukrainian army by using an FPV drone close to Avdiivka.

“In the settlement of Berdychi, reconnaissance teams detected the movement of the enemy’s tracked equipment and, after tracking down the target, delivered a strike, immobilizing the combat vehicle. By the second FPV drone strike, the fighters destroyed the American tank, on which militants had pinned great hopes. In addition, our reconnaissance teams managed to get to the damaged vehicle, inspect it, and retrieve all the necessary equipment,” the ministry said in a statement.

The fifth Abrams was annihilated by the Lancet, as recently discussed by the Russian MoD. Destroying five tanks in less than two months has brought jubilation among Russian forces that continue to advance into Ukraine in the intense ground combat taking place near Avdiivka and adjoining regions.

 

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