That’s Germany though. I’m talking about the U.S. delivery of Abrams. The US army has been saying for years–actually decades–they don’t want or need more Abrams. Yet Congress keeps buying them anyway.
I’m no expert, but it stands to reason that the US must have stocks of Abrams that are viewed as surplus to our defense needs. Especially if you include the 450 Abrams the Marines recently gave up.
I’ve heard the arguments that the Abrams is expensive to operate and require a big logistics tail, and therefore not well suited to Ukraine. That makes sense, but they won’t be any cheaper to operate or require a shorter tail a year from now when the new tanks arrive.
Again, not an expert, but it seems to me that the thing to do is deliver a substantial number of Abrams out of inventory right now. Train up the crews and build out the logistical tail, and have then ready to deploy on the battlefield in numbers by say, late summer. One thing military history tells us again and again is that it is a mistake to use half measures. Providing Abrams a year from now when they are needed by spring at the latest is a mistake. I think it will wind up costing us more money, not less when this is all said and done.
There is a third way. Ukraine beats Russia back to the 2014 borders and they declare a ceasefire like in Korea.