Australian Minister of Defence Industry Pat Conroy has announced the aid consisting of 49 M1A1 Abrams MBTs to Ukraine.
Conroy announced the new aid during a press conference in London. In terms of numbers, this aid surpasses the previous U.S. aid of 31 M1A1 Abrams tanks.
While there are no plans regarding the replacement of the tanks to be donated, it is likely to be a more recent version of Abrams, like the M1A2 SEPv3, which introduces a new armour package.
Australia previously donated the Slinger C-UAS system to Ukraine. Slinger consists of a 30x113 mm/7.62 mm RCWS with onboard EO/IR and radar. The operator can engage small UAVs with either the 30x113 mm weapon firing proximity fuse rounds or the 7.62 mm machine gun.
Ukraine has been using various donated Western MBTs, including Leopard 1, Leopard 2, and Challenger 2, in the war. Some of these were modified by the personnel on the field with locally made ERA blocks for protection against ATGMs and RPGs. Like their Russian counterparts, some of these tanks have suffered from the lack of countermeasures against UAVs.
M1A1 Abrams MBT Aid from Australia to Ukraine
