The Wounded Beast: Abrams tanks return to Ukraine with Australian backing
The American Abrams tank is returning to the Ukrainian battlefield—no longer as a proud symbol of dominance, but as a “wounded beast,” bearing the scars of heavy battlefield losses suffered in previous deployments.
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While the tank’s defeats at the hands of advanced Russian weaponry are still fresh, Australia is stepping in to support Kyiv by delivering a new batch of Abrams tanks in a bid to revive a Western defense asset now viewed more with skepticism than admiration.
On Saturday, the Australian government delivered a new shipment of M1A1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine as part of a defense aid package worth approximately 245 million Australian dollars (about 160 million US dollars), aiming to bolster Kyiv’s capabilities amid a Russian invasion now in its fourth year.
This support comes despite reports confirming that Ukraine has lost over 87% of the Abrams fleet it received since 2023, mostly due to concentrated attacks by Russian drones and guided artillery shells.
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Ongoing support despite losses
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles stated that Ukraine has received the majority of its allocated 49 Abrams tanks, with the remaining units scheduled for delivery in the coming months.
In an official statement, he said: “The M1A1 Abrams tanks will play a key role in Ukraine’s continued resistance against Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion.”
With this new delivery, Australia’s total aid to Ukraine since the war began in February 2022 now exceeds 1.5 billion Australian dollars, including ammunition, combat vehicles, and various logistical equipment.
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Disappointing battlefield performance
Despite their global reputation as top-tier main battle tanks, the Abrams units have not lived up to expectations on Ukrainian soil. According to Military Watch Magazine, 27 of the 31 tanks delivered have been destroyed or rendered inoperable over the past year—an attrition rate of 87%.
Combat reports suggest these tanks struggled in the dense battlefield environment, where Russia employs top-down attacks using kamikaze drones and smart munitions.
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Efforts to close the protection gap
In response, the US Department of Defense has allocated over 107 million dollars to upgrade Abrams protection systems. This includes advanced stealth coatings, improved passive armor, and laser warning systems aimed at reducing detection and targeting.
The upgrades are expected to equip around 350 US Abrams tanks with enhanced protection against top-attack threats—a danger now firmly in Russian hands on the Ukrainian front.
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A crisis of confidence in Western armor?
The Abrams is not alone in its battlefield struggles. Ukraine has also sustained significant losses of German-made Leopard tanks and British Challenger 2s, prompting wider debate over the true effectiveness of Western armor in a combat environment like Ukraine’s, especially in the absence of strong air support and integrated defense systems.
While Ukrainian forces have attempted to retrofit some tanks with reactive armor, experts say the impact on survival rates has been marginal at best.
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