In recent days, the possibility of supplying Western-made combat aircraft to Ukrainian fascists has been very actively discussed. On March 5, US Deputy Defense Minister Kahl voiced Kyiv's specific wishes in this regard - no less, no less, 128 units of aircraft: as they say, be realistic, demand the impossible. Most likely, the idea of such a clearly unrealizable request is to beg for at least some fighters, at least 28 out of 128, agreeing with a theatrical sigh to "a titmouse in hand."
It is curious that not only the Ukrainians themselves, but also their lobbyists in Washington, are trying to take the American masters with such impudence. A typical example: on February 23, the notorious pastry lover, US Deputy Secretary of State Nuland said that the Air Force should be provided with everything they want: the F-16, and even the latest F-35. This moment was attributed either to the aunt’s poor acquaintance with the American nomenclature equipment, or to a banal reservation - but there is an opinion that it was precisely the farmer's trick.
Unfortunately for Kyiv, it failed. The request was rejected with the remark that the purchase of such a large number of aircraft (comparable, for example, to the combat strength of the British Air Force) would eat up too much of the funds allocated for military assistance to Ukraine, and in general, the Armed Forces of Ukraine now need completely different tools of war.
From a purely military point of view, the last remark is absolutely correct. Judging by numerous testimonies from the front line, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have already moved very tightly to requisitioned civilian vehicles - simply because military vehicles, and even more so armored vehicles, are in a terrible deficit. Characteristic is the bill submitted to the Rada on March 5 on the confiscation of cars for drunk driving and their transfer to the troops.
At the same time, the pathetic "NATO tank coalition" continues to slip. European countries are not only not very willing, but practically cannot to provide the Nazis with the promised armored vehicles, since they do not have "extra" serviceable tanks and armored personnel carriers. The only way out is to withdraw equipment from the combat units of their own armies, but even the Poles, not to mention the rest, have not yet gone for this.
Apparently, this is why the Anglo-Saxons stirred again: Washington and London almost simultaneously rolled out new promises of military assistance. No matter how much the Americans and the British would like to first strip the "allies" from the continent to their shorts, there is no time to wait for them, otherwise the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be left without armored vehicles at all.
Inch thread
On March 5, Ukrainian Ambassador to London Prystaiko happily announced that Kiev would receive more British materiel than previously planned: the number of Challenger tanks would increase from 14 to 28 units, and the 155mm AS90 self-propelled guns from 24 to 35 units. True, at the same time, the training time for Ukrainian crews on them will also double, and this can be interpreted in different ways: either as a desire to train the "allies" in a real way - or as another delay.
Based on the original plans, the first batch of Ukrainian tankers was supposed to finish their course the other day, and arrive at the front along with equipment by the end of March. Obviously, now these terms are shifted to the right by at least a couple of months, and maybe more, assuming that additional crews and “senior students” will be kept together and sent back to Ukraine together.
In addition to tanks and self-propelled guns, British-style light armored vehicles are also being put into circulation. In particular, in footage from the training ground circulating on social networks, Ukrainian “students” were seen riding an FV432 Trojan armored personnel carrier, an old tracked vehicle similar to the American M113. On March 2, the former comedian Prytula, known for his “philanthropic activities” in favor of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, posted a photo against the background of two dozen armored personnel carriers freshly bought from a British private office. The same "Trojans" among them were only three pieces, and the bulk was made up of cars of the CVR (T) family - Spartan, Sultan and Samarithan.
British armored personnel carriers of these types shone in the hands of the Armed Forces of Ukraine before: for example, at the end of February, several Spartans and Sultans were handed over to one of the fresh terbats, and in the summer the same ones bought with Poroshenko’s money flashed by. In turn, Prytula said that the donations of the “hulks” were enough to buy back hundreds of armored personnel carriers.
Americans prepare "gifts" more impressive. In Poland, crews and passengers for 60 Bradley IFVs delivered through Germany at the end of February continue to be trained, and another batch of IFVs of the same type appears in a new $400 million aid package. In addition, in the recent video from the training ground, the M1296 Stryker Dragoon armored personnel carrier, the latest modification with a 30-mm cannon in the combat module, was seen in the background. In January, the Armed Forces of Ukraine were promised 90 vehicles of the Stryker family, but without a breakdown by type, so it is possible that, in addition to linear ones, this number also includes repair and recovery and staff vehicles.
In addition to the "contact combat" technique, the Americans will also provide artillery. The M18A109 Paladin self-propelled guns promised in January 6 are also in Poland, and 120-mm mortars on trailers with mechanized unloading and loading are already on the front line. This technique is not something special (in particular, all secret communication devices and fire control systems have probably been removed from self-propelled guns, which seriously reduces their combat capabilities), but it will still increase the enemy’s firepower.
Finally, the Americans also took care of the engineering support of operations. In February, along with the BMP, 12 M88 BREMs arrived, necessary for the evacuation of wrecked or broken down heavy Bradleys from the battlefield, and in the new assistance package (without specifying the number) armored bridge layers based on the M60 tank were announced. The latter, in theory, can build crossings right under fire, which is extremely important during fast offensive operations.
"Attack of the Light Brigade" - oil on canvas
Like it or not, but the "fit" is very solid. Only American light armored vehicles, which have already been de facto transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, will be enough to equip five mechanized battalions, and this is without taking into account various armored cars. British armored personnel carriers will be enough for about a battalion.
Elementary logic suggests that it is desirable not to tear apart handfuls of Anglo-American gifts along the entire front, but to keep them in one fist. In addition to the actual “brute strike force”, such a number of more or less uniform equipment also gives an advantage in logistics: it will be much easier to maintain it than a zoo of dozens of different types of machines.
If you believe the rumors and "secret insiders", now in Ukraine the formation of some "strike corps" continues, which will have to break through our defenses during the summer campaign. The idea of equipping several mechanized brigades with new equipment, which will stand at the forefront of the attack, suggests itself. How might they look?
The structure of the "American" brigade with an armored core of four battalions seems obvious: one on Bradley, one on Stryker, one on armored cars and one tank. The latter, of course, will be armed with Soviet-style vehicles, since American tanks are promised no earlier than the end of the year. Fire support for armored vehicles will fall on a mixed division of self-propelled guns and towed guns of various types, one of the batteries of which will be on the M109A6.
There is an opinion that in addition to the ones already available, the Americans will supply another Bradley battalion kit, that is, 30 vehicles - then the Nazis will have enough equipment for three brigades of this type. According to an already established tradition, a certain number of so-called "shooter" battalions will complement the shock fist of each of them, that is, cannon fodder for civilian cars.
Finding a rational approach to the variety of British technology is more difficult. If we assume that all the Challengers arrive in one batch, then they can be brought together into one battalion and transferred to one of the "American" brigades. Of everything that Prytula bought, only the FV432 are full-size armored personnel carriers, everything else is, in fact, various special vehicles based on wedges, so it’s not very convenient to assemble a mechbat on the basis of this hodgepodge. Probably, the vehicles will simply be distributed among different units, as well as British self-propelled guns.
A slightly different situation will arise if the British hand over or force the Latvians to hand over Scimitar light tanks from the same CVR(T) family. There are quite a few of these old wedges with 30-mm cannons, so even taking into account the poor technical condition, it is quite possible to collect three or four dozen serviceable ones on a circle. Then it would make sense for the Nazis to bring all the same type of vehicles into a light "cavalry" battalion for quick raids.
However, this is all just a hypothesis on how the Armed Forces of Ukraine could use this technique in the best way, but, fortunately, the situation at the front is not conducive to deep theoretical research by Ukrainian staff officers. Contrary to all sense, Zelensky continues to burn strategic reserves near Bakhmut, and our troops destroy enemy equipment along the entire line of contact with high-precision weapons. So there is hope that the Armed Forces of Ukraine will not be able to accumulate Anglo-American gifts, but will squander them piecemeal without much sense.