Ukraine’s ‘Monkey Model’ Abrams ‘Has a Lot of Weak Points’

The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed on Monday that a second Ukrainian M1 Abrams had been destroyed in fighting with Russian forces, with footage circulating online showing an M1 smoldering near an M1150 assault breacher outside the Donetsk suburb of Avdeyevka.

The first Abrams was confirmed destroyed on February 26, also in the vicinity of Avdeyevka – which Ukrainian forces had built up into a major fortress against Donbass militias and the regular Russian army over the course of almost a decade, and which Russian forces finally managed to smash through after months of brutal fighting last month.

Both of the Abrams destroyed to date were eliminated by Russian FPV drones – the first by a UAV known as Piranha, the second by a drone called the Upyr (lit. ‘Vampire’ or ‘Ghoul’).

Monkey Models for Ukraine

In the case of Ukraine’s Abrams, Kiev appears to have received American ‘monkey models’ of its own, thereby simplifying Russian forces efforts to destroy them.

Ukraine’s Abrams “were supplied without additional protective equipment installed on [the] tanks operated by the Americans themselves,” Alexei Leonkov, one of Russia’s best-known military observers, told Sputnik. “This is the vaunted depleted uranium armor, which provides the tank with increased toughness.”

In the custom-built Ukrainian version of the M1, depleted uranium plating was replaced with tungsten armor, making it more vulnerable to enemy projectiles and drones.

“Then there’s the tank’s active protection, specifically, the Trophy system installed on other Abrams,” which Ukraine’s M1s similarly do not feature, Leonkov explained. “Additionally, they did not get an anti-drone warning station for defense against UAVs. That is, the tanks Ukraine got are a ‘lite version’” of the base Abrams.

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‘A Lot of Weak Points’

The result is a main battle tank with “a lot of weak points,” according to the observer.

These include the aircraft engine that powers the tank, which provides for a big boost in power to propel the 60 armored behemoth forward, but comes at the cost of capriciousness to the environment, and a shorter service life.

“The second weak point – as it is on any tank, is the top of the turret and the side projection,” Leonkov said. “No matter how well it is protected, the tank remains vulnerable. But the fact is that the modification [of the Abrams] sent to Ukraine involved placing ammunition not only in the hull, but also partially in the rear of the turret, which means that if it is hit directly or in certain other conditions could result in detonation and destruction of the tank.”

The Abram’s third problem area is its transmission, Leonkov explained, pointing out that the American MBT’s transmission is an “Achilles heel” of sorts that turns the piece of armor into a vulnerable target in difficult terrain.

“All these issues are of course known by our servicemen. Therefore, they waited for this tank to appear, and when this platoon of Abrams began to operate in the Avdeyevka area, that is – to engage in fire from closed positions, shelling our positions, they began to be hunted,” the observer said.

Judging by the information available about the destruction of the second Abrams, Leonkov thinks its drive train was likely damaged, after which drones were sent off to finish it off to prevent the M1 from being towed from the front for repairs.

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One of Several Monkey Models Delivered by US

The ‘lite version’ Abrams Ukraine got is one of several monkey model variants of Americans weapons provided to Kiev, Leonkov said, pointing out that the ATACMS missiles supplied to Kiev last year were delivered without inertial target guidance systems and GPS course correction modules, ostensibly due to concerns over Russian electronic warfare.

In any case, the observer cautioned against overstating the capabilities of even the base Abrams model used by the US military, pointing out that going back to the Iraq War, US commanders recognized the weak spots of the tank against even outdated and simplified Iraqi armor.

“At that time, American command issued a directive prohibiting the introduction of Abrams to the battlefield unless Iraqi T-72 tanks were eliminated first, because the first T-72 models fired sub-caliber shells that could shoot through almost any projection. Therefore, Iraqi Army T-72s first had to be eliminated using tactical aviation armed with anti-tank weapons…And only after the command was given that there were no more T-72s in the Abrams path did they enter the fray. After that we all saw the pretty pictures of the US tanks shelling Iraqi positions,” Leonkov emphasized.

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Restating the Tank’s Role in Ukraine

Ukraine’s Western tanks, be they the Abrams, the Leopard 2, Leopard 2 or Challenger 2, were always meant for use as fire support vehicles deployed in the third echelon and engaged in heavy fire support.

“They were designed as a means of fire support, as a means to suppress enemy firing points remaining combat-ready after artillery strikes. Ukraine had accumulated a large number of artillery systems in the southern direction” of the front during last year’s summer counteroffensive. “But they did not meet expectations,” Leonkov summed up.

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