US-made Abrams are better than Russia’s best tanks in the war, Ukrainian commander says, and it’s not even close
A US-provided M1A1 Abrams tank at an undisclosed location in Ukraine.
Ukraine is operating a small fleet of US-made Abrams tanks, combat-proven vehicles that were built to destroy Russian armor.
The war in Ukraine hasn’t really featured the kind of tank-on-tank engagements that the M1A1 Abrams was designed to win. And instead of leading massive armored breakthroughs, another function they were built to carry out, these tanks are primarily being used in more of a supporting role.
But a Ukrainian tank commander says that the Abrams is still a dominant tank on the battlefield — better than the Soviet-era ones Kyiv fielded at the start of the war and even Russia’s top and most celebrated tanks.
“It’s better than T-72, T-62, and even Russian T-90,” the commander, who goes by the call sign Zakon, said through a translator during a recent interview with Business Insider from an undisclosed location near the front lines in eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian soldiers scavenge an abandoned Russian T-90A tank near Kharkiv.
The US initially planned to send Ukraine the newer M1A2 variant, but it instead decided to send the older M1A1s, tanks that run $10 million a unit, to speed up the delivery process. Kyiv received all 31 Abrams last fall, and they are now in service with the seasoned 47th Mechanized Brigade. Zakon commands one tank and oversees a crew that consists of a driver, a loader, and a gunner.
He said the M1A1, even though it’s an older model of the Abrams that has been the main US battle tank for decades, is twice as good as Russia’s T-90. “It’s like a mouse against a big cat, if we compare these tanks,” he told BI this week.
None of Russia’s tanks stack up
Russia has fielded multiple variants of the T-90, a main battle tank in service since the early 1990s. The newest — and most technologically advanced — is the T-90M, which Russian President Vladimir Putin once claimed is the “world’s best tank.”
The T-90M is the most sophisticated tank Russia has deployed to Ukraine since Moscow has withheld its T-14 Armata from combat. It has thermal sites, multi-layered armor, a sophisticated fire control system, and electronic warfare capabilities, among other tools.
Though capable, they are not invincible. According to open-source intelligence site Oryx, Russia has already lost at least 100 T-90Ms and more than 50 other T-90 variants. They have fallen victim to Ukraine’s small attack drones and armored vehicles.
Another sophisticated Russian tank is the T-80BVM, which according to Oryx has suffered at least 150 losses. Overall tank losses for the Russian army since the start of the war are estimated to be more than 3,000.
As Russian T-90 tank fires in an undisclosed location in Ukraine.
Zakon did not specify on T-90 variants when he compared the American-made Abrams to Russian armor. However, Gian Gentile, the associate director of RAND’s Arroyo Center and a retired US Army officer with experience in the Abrams, previously told BI that even the T-90M is “inferior” to the Abrams because it’s less heavily armored, making it more vulnerable, and has worse technology, particularly the optics and fire control systems.
The Abrams is a powerful machine. Its got thick armor, but its gas-turbine engine can get the 60-ton tank up to 45 miles an hour. And its depleted-uranium rounds can pierce holes in enemy armor.
“Probably the best thing about it is its speed. It’s really quick,” Zakon said. “It’s easy to get into the fight and get out of the fight.”
The Abrams hasn’t really had a chance to do much of what it was made for in Ukraine, though. Zakon said that more tanks could help Kyiv deliver more of an armored punch, echoing comments made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week.
“For our tanks, we use them to ensure that our infantry or foot troops can be deployed or that our vehicles or equipment can be deployed where it’s necessary,” Zakon said. “Unfortunately, we do not use these tanks as breakthrough tanks, but we mostly use them to strengthen and support our positions.”
M1A1 Abrams tanks needed for training Ukrainian soldiers await offloading in Grafenwoehr, Germany.
Though the Abrams is widely recognized as a top tank, the American armor is also not without its own vulnerabilities and has been a high-profile target for Russian threats like anti-tank missiles, rocket launchers, and first-person view drones, which are all over the battlefield. Ukraine has already lost as many as 10 Abrams, according to Oryx.
In Ukraine, these tanks have been equipped with electronic warfare capabilities, explosive reactive armor tiling, and anti-drone protective screens donated by Rinat Akhmetov’s Steel Front initiative to help them defend against inbound munitions.
Zakon said that the Abrams can definitely take a hit, but he repeatedly emphasized that Ukraine still needs more dynamic systems to protect the tank’s exterior and the crew inside. He stressed the importance of having more Abrams Reactive Armor Tiles or the Soviet Kontakt-1, technology that can defend against explosives.
“We do need Abrams tanks, we do need people, and first of all, we do need dynamic protection,” Zakon said, adding that “we need them as much as possible.”
