The US Department of Defense has selected a contractor to modernize Abrams tanks for Ukraine. The Associated Press reports that the preparation of the export version of the American tank will be carried out at the General Dynamics plant in Ohio.
The production capacity of the only M1A1 Abrams modernization plant in the United States will not allow the tanks promised by President Biden to be ready in a short time. According to an American newspaper, no more than 20 military vehicles leave the gates of the enterprise every month. The plant can increase production to 33 units in the case of three shifts.
The speed of modernization of tanks for Ukraine will also depend on which of the options available in the United States will be taken as a basis. In any case, the preparation of 31 combat vehicles will take a long time. The Pentagon leadership is not ready to remove tanks from active army units, so Kyiv will be preparing them from training stocks or removing them from conservation.
The timing of sending Abrams to Ukraine depends on whether the US takes tanks from military training stocks or from army units. The second option is less desirable, since it may affect the combat readiness of tank units. The US does not build new tanks from scratch. We have a fleet of about 2500 Abrams. An Ohio plant strips old tanks and uses an empty hull as a starting point for building a new one. The whole process takes 18 to 24 months
writes the Associated Press.
Work on the modernization of Ukrainian tanks will have to be squeezed into the order fulfillment schedule. General Dynamics is currently preparing 75 Abrams for Australia and another 250 for Poland. Preparation of Abrams for Ukraine may lead to a disruption in the schedule of deliveries to other customers.