Question about Ukraine OOB...

[MarkSheppard]

Originally Posted by Karagin

So the supply train issue comes back to haunt future fighting...who would have thought that...oh wait, everyone who is in combat support who point it out in every AAR and get ignored.

They do have CSS - here have two M88s towing a Leopard 2 out of the battlefield.

https://twitter.com/CasualArtyFan/st...05178421092448

It's just...more tanks and other AFV than CSS to recover them. The usual.

[Karagin]

Originally Posted by MarkSheppard

They do have CSS - here have two M88s towing a Leopard 2 out of the battlefield.

https://twitter.com/CasualArtyFan/st...05178421092448

It's just...more tanks and other AFV than CSS to recover them. The usual.

You missed the point, but cool video.

[MarkSheppard]

So...the Russians recently restarted tank gas turbine engine production after...30 years.

That's a big deal, because they don't have a lot of machine tools and they already have the V92 Diesel (T-90) and the weird Diesel for the T-14 in production.

So why restart tank GTEs after 30 years?

Because the T-80 fleet has been mostly extinguished in this war, it can't be about maintaining the T-80 fleet.

I think it's because the weight of all the addons on the T-90 (massive ERA addons, the cope cage anti drone stuff) over the decades, and the need for mobility and reliable cold weather start/performance has forced this upon the Russian Armed Forces.

They need 1500 HP to maintain a mobility advantage over the AFU's increasingly more mobile western tanks; and the V92 Diesel taps out at around 1150 HP; and the T-14 Opposed Piston Diesel simply doesn't work.

Soo....gas turbines by default win.

[MarkSheppard]

Abrams is "now in Ukraine" per Zelenskyy, and the US is now talking about an additional 30 to be delivered on top of the initial increment of 30...

[MarkSheppard]

AFU recovery working well

https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/s...02046953418755

(M2A2 Brad being towed by M88 wrecker)

[DRG]

Originally Posted by MarkSheppard

Abrams is "now in Ukraine" per Zelenskyy, and the US is now talking about an additional 30 to be delivered on top of the initial increment of 30...

Which means the 10/23 OOB date was a "good guess"........

[FASTBOAT TOUGH]

I would rather think it was an "educated" guess at the time. All the signs pointed to it and maybe we've just been doing it for so long as well.

However, there was a delay which will probably push it back to JAN 2024 before they get all 31 tanks to form the Battalion that will operate them.

So far none of the Western tanks or other tanks (M-55S.) have been fielded before their Battalions have received them.

They will receive 6-8 in the initial shipment. All are Ex-Marine tanks.

I feel the 80 some FEP tanks the CORPS had, have by this time finished their conversion to the M1A1C.

The FEP tanks were modernized enough to minimize the time to convert them to the M1A2C standard. I'm guessing saving three to four months less on the production line then the current 18 to 24 months for the rest as has been already posted.
https://www.armyrecognition.com/defe...aine_soon.html
https://www.armyrecognition.com/defe..._pentagon.html

Also, I didn't intend at the time to mean nothing more than we wouldn't see the M1A2D (SEP 4) before the game ended. Well thins have taken a dramatic turn NO ONE will see the M1A2D (SEP 4) .

"On September 6, 2023, the U.S. Army announced its decision to halt the ongoing upgrades of the M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank. Instead, the Army has initiated the development of a new armored platform, referred to as the M1E3 Abrams, with the objective of addressing the evolving requirements of future battlefields, particularly those expected to emerge beyond the year 2040."

"The Army's official statement indicates that the M1E3 Abrams is anticipated to achieve its initial operational capability in the early 2030s. This timeframe coincides with growing concerns surrounding evolving warfare scenarios, as exemplified by recent events such as the conflict in Ukraine."

"This modernization initiative is expected to bolster the effectiveness and maneuverability of armored brigade combat teams on a global scale, achieved by reducing sustainment demands and improving operational and tactical mobility. As part of the transition process, the Army will continue limited production of the M1A2 SEP v.3 until production fully shifts to the M1E3 Abrams. Additionally, critical technologies will be carried forward into the SEPv4 Abrams modernization program." (In other words; the current SEP 4 technologies will serve as the baseline technologies for the M1E3 ABRAMS.)
https://www.armyrecognition.com/defe...ttle_tank.html

Regards,
Pat

[MarkSheppard]

Poor don and andy...

Looks like the Russians pulled some BTR-90 pre-production prototypes and used them up in Ukraine.

https://twitter.com/praisethesteph/s...74425119367238

A very rare 🇷🇺#Russian BTR-90 wheeled IFV first spotted on the battlefield, allegedly near #Avdiivka, #Donetsk oblast.

The BTR-90 is a wheeled IFV designed in 1993, armed with a 30mm 2A42 autocannon, a 7.62mm PKT machine gun, a 9M113 Konkurs ATGM and a 30mm AGS-17 automatic grenade launcher. It never made it into the Russian Army's armament.

https://twitter.com/AndreiBtvt/statu...67191849107695

First ever BTR-90 in action. Less than a dozen made and stored in Russia #38 research institute

...

The BTR-90 was adopted by the Russian Armed Forces by Order of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation No. 324 of June 9, 2008.
Defense Minister of the Russian Federation No. 324 of June 9, 2008, but it was not mass-produced

[Suhiir]

Originally Posted by FASTBOAT TOUGH

They will receive 6-8 in the initial shipment. All are Ex-Marine tanks.

I feel the 80 some FEP tanks the CORPS had, have by this time finished their conversion to the M1A1C.

The FEP tanks were modernized enough to minimize the time to convert them to the M1A2C standard. I'm guessing saving three to four months less on the production line then the current 18 to 24 months for the rest as has been already posted.

Regards,
Pat

Seeing this and thinking it over I doubt the US Army would loan the USMC their very best tanks (what M1A2C's they have will undoubtedly be in or earmarked for Germany.
So for next years patch the US Army loans to the USMC are downgraded to the M1A2v2 SEP.