Abrams and Challenger tanks 'made to beat Russia': Why muddy Ukraine is ideal warzone

How Nato designed its tanks to outgun and outmanoeuvre the numerically superior Russian forces and why this means they're perfect for Ukraine

Ukraine has received about a dozen American-built Himars multiple rocket launchers and has used them to strike Russian ammunition depots. The Olympian / AP

Ukraine is asking western allies to provide it with German Leopard 2 tanks in its war with Russia. EPA

Staring down the barrel of a Leopard 2 tank, pictured in Estonia. AP

Kyiv is keen to acquire Leopard 2 tanks because they are among Europe's best and widely used, meaning spare parts and ammunition can be easily sourced. AFP

The Polish government in January 2023 signed a deal to buy 116 Abrams tanks from the US. AFP

Ukraine would also like to have Abrams battle tanks, although they require more crew training and specialised fuel. EPA

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on his western allies to speed up military support for his country. AFP

British soldiers pictured with a Challenger 2 battle tank in Estonia. The UK is set to give Ukraine 14 Challengers. EPA

Britain is also offering Kyiv AS-90 self-propelled guns. EPA

These would be part of a package including further armoured vehicles and 600 Brimstone missiles. AP

Nato armour was designed to overcome one major problem ― how do you win a war against an enemy that may have three times as many tanks as you?

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union deployed 20,000 tanks near the West German border, facing off against about a third the number of Nato tanks.

One would expect a Challenger II to be able to take two or three direct hits from a T-72 or T-80 and still carry on.

Tank commander Col Hamish De Bretton-Gordon

So, in the 1970s, western designers and strategists grappled with the need for a tank that was highly mobile, heavily armoured and powerfully armed.

A US report described the requirement being for “rapid engagement of successive targets.”

From the MBT-70 to the M1 Abrams

US Army M1A1 Abrams tank fires during Nato Enhanced Forward Presence battle group military exercise in 2021. Reuters

Today, Germany's Leopard 2 and America's US M1 Abrams evolved, in part, from a joint tank development programme in the 1960s and '70s aimed at building a strong all-round tank. It yielded the MBT-70, a weapon that outclassed its Russian adversary in manoeuvrability, armour and armament.

While the MBT-70 was abandoned due to cost, the Nato militaries had tanks that they felt could tackle a much larger number of Soviet opponents with heavier guns and the ability to launch anti-tank missiles.

“One would expect a Challenger II to be able to take two or three direct hits from a T-72 or T-80 and still carry on, and the armour, which is highly classified, is designed to do that,” Col Hamish De Bretton-Gordon, who commanded Challenger I tanks during the first Gulf war, and later Challenger 2s in peacetime.

Russia is still fielding T-72s and T-80s in Ukraine alongside their most advanced T-90 tanks.

In pictures: Nato equipment in Ukraine

Germany will follow the US in providing a Patriot missile defence system, pictured above, to Ukraine. Reuters

FIM-92 Stinger rockets have been donated to help Ukrainian infantry engage aircraft and drones. The shoulder-launched missiles can shoot down aircraft. Photo: US Army

Germany donated 25 Flakpanzer Gepard all-weather-capable self-propelled anti-aircraft gun. AFP

The High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or Himars, can simultaneously launch several precision-guided missiles. The US has given Ukraine projectiles with a range of about 130 kilometres. EPA

M777 howitzers and about 300,000 shells have been donated to give Ukraine an accurate artillery platform with a range of 50 kilometres. EPA

Ukraine has been sent at least 5,000 of the anti-tank weapons known as NLAWs. These shoulder-launched rockets have proved deadly in the field. PA

Ukrainian troops have also received thousands of Javelin anti-tank missiles. Bloomberg

Poland and the Czech Republic sent Russian-made T72 tanks, which Ukraine has used for decades, to ease integration and cut down training time. EPA

France as announced its plan to give AMX-10 RC “scout tanks” to Ukraine. "This is the first time that western-made armoured vehicles are being delivered in support of the Ukrainian army," a French official said. AFP

Shortly after the French, the US said it would send Bradley fighting vehicles to provide "a level of firepower and armour that would bring advantages on the battlefield”. Reuters

The UK sent their phased-out Saxon armoured vehicles. They found new life protecting infantry units in transit and dealing with tough off-road conditions. Getty Images

Denmark has supplied Harpoon anti-ship launchers to help Ukraine defend its coasts. AFP

Turkey sold Ukraine its Bayraktar TB2 armed drones. These unmanned aircraft can fly at an altitude of 7,500 metres before swooping down to attack targets. They have been instrumental in Ukraine. AFP

The US sent 20 Soviet and Russian made Mi-17 helicopters to Ukraine that had initially been bought for the Afghan government in 2010. AP

Germany has also supplied its latest version of the IRIS-T air defence system designed to shoot down missiles at altitudes up to 20 kilometres. Getty Images

The US also gave 700 of its Switchblade kamikaze drones. AP

Ukraine has also been given thousands of small arms, bullet proof vests, medical kits, litres of fuel, granades and other weapons systems. Reuters

But, it was not until Operation Desert Storm in the 1990s that the British and Americans would put their Challengers and M1 Abrams to the test against the largely Soviet-made T-72s of Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

In 1991, a Challenger 1 ― a less well-armoured version of the modern Challenger II ― destroyed an Iraqi tank at a range of at least 4,700 metres, still thought to be the longest-range tank kill in history.

British engineers from the 7th armoured brigade bow up a mine shield in January 1991 in Saudi Arabian desert. AFP

The US and American tanks proved better than expected ― even with the challenges presented by the hot, dusty deserts.

Between the first Gulf War in 1991 and the 2003 invasion of Iraq, British Challengers destroyed more than 300 enemy tanks and suffered no combat losses.

The M1 Abrams reported similarly long-range engagements over the flat terrain of Iraq’s southern desert, destroying around 160 Iraqi tanks with no combat losses at the battle of 73 Easting in February 1991.

While many of those Iraqi tanks were older Soviet designs, it buoyed hopes that the development of an agile but powerful tank able to beat overwhelming numbers had been a success.

Ukraine's tanks will again be outnumbered

From top Left: A British Challenger tank, a French Leclerc tank, a Polish German Leopard tank and a US Abrams tank. AFP

As their designers envisaged, the donated tanks in Ukraine will be outnumbered by their Russian rivals.

Before the Ukraine invasion, Russia had approximately 2,600 operational tanks and 10,000 in storage, in varying states of repair.

These include Moscow's top battle tank, the T-90, but larger numbers of older T-80s and T-72s — many of them produced during the Cold War or shortly after. While the T-90s come with sophisticated electronics and targeting systems, the T-80s and T-72s are less advanced.

Since the war began last February, about half of Russia’s operational tanks are thought to have been lost, leaving an estimated 1,300.

From the flat dust of Iraq to the muddy fields of Europe

Soldiers secure cables to recover an overturned battle tank during the Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers’ Exercise called "Iron Challenge" in the UK. AFP

In contrast to the large flat plains of southern Iraq, Nato expected that fighting on the hills and in the forests of Europe would be at much shorter ranges.

One military analyst described much of the terrain in Ukraine as “close” and “complex,” with many places an enemy can conceal themselves.

Tank armour subsequently becomes more important, along with the ability to spot the enemy and fire the first shots.

Designed to overcome the odds, Nato tanks are proficient in exactly this kind of fighting, being fitted with powerful laser rangefinders, gun sights and thermal imaging systems that can spot enemies in gloomy conditions.

And while the Nato handbooks have been focused on how to win a war against the Soviet Union and then Russia for half a century, a British defence consultant said that Ukrainians themselves will ultimately find the best way to use these weapons.

“As for engagement range, the pace of adaptation and agility of response among the Ukrainian armed forces against the Russians has meant that many of the operating procedures and conventional tactics that might be assumed for the Challenger’s original use will be replaced by the Ukrainians’ approach,” he said.

“The success of the equipment will depend on the approach of the tank crews and their commanders, and the tanks' integration with other battlefield assets.”