Challenger and Abrams tanks will excel in Ukraine after decades in Iraq's ‘harsh deserts'

Veterans recall how they kept their tanks running through sand storms and desert battles in Iraq but say they're confident the donated equipment will outperform in muddy Europe

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

The tanks Nato countries have now agreed to send to Ukraine may have spent three decades being battle-tested in the hot, harsh and rugged environments of the Middle East but they were designed precisely for the battlefields they will soon be facing in Europe.

Veterans tell The National the vehicles excelled in Iraq and Afghanistan but will prove vital for Ukraine, being designed for high-intensity war against Soviet-era armour in Europe's muddy, semi-built up and wooded environments.

On Wednesday, Germany agreed to send more than 100 Leopard 2 battle tanks, some of the best in the world, as the US looked at sending 31 M1 Abrams tanks.

It comes after the UK said it would send its Challenger II main battle tank as western states make the latest donations of top-of-the-range equipment.

The deal comes after weeks of wrangling that highlighted splits between Ukraine’s Nato allies.

Tanks back on home turf after desert modifications

“They were adapted to the Middle East but were designed for combat in Europe, back in the '70s and '80s,” said Craig Whiteside, who commanded Bradley Fighting Vehicles for the US military in the 1990s, which were designed to operate alongside the US's fearsome M1 Abrams. Now an associate professor at the US Naval War College, he also served in Iraq.

Alongside the donation of tanks, the US is also sending 50 Bradley Fighting Vehicles.

A soldier walks past a line of M1 Abrams tanks in 2016, in Colorado Springs. AP

A veteran Challenger II commander, who has since worked with the British government and chose to remain anonymous, said the tanks may outdo their excellent track record when sent to Ukraine.

“The Challenger II was built for a north-west Europe specification and I wouldn't anticipate any environmental issues with its operation. If anything, the environment might provide a better combat performance automotive than many [Middle East and North African] theatres,” he said.

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

Harsh desert conditions mean a lot of maintenance challenges from dust and sand, which forms an abrasive paste with vehicle lubricant, clogs up moving parts and can hinder night vision devices in thick dust storms.

These conditions briefly halted the US armoured drive to Baghdad during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, despite many tanks being fitted with infrared vision devices which can see through sandstorms.

“Challengers weren't designed to work in the desert and they had quite a lot of problems because of the dust clogging up the air filters on the engines and that's why they got a bit of a bad name for reliability,” said Col Hamish De Bretton-Gordon, who commanded Challenger I tanks during the first Gulf war, and later Challenger 2s in peacetime.

“The desert is a really difficult place for armoured vehicles to work in. And actually, the sand, you know, is almost worse than the mud for driving and you can very easily get bogged down,” he added.

Mr Whiteside said the US M1 Abrams will also probably run more smoothly in Ukraine.

“People were always very worried about the Abrams with its turbine engine in the sands of the desert, and it turned out to work exceptionally well, it just had to change filters a lot.”

Bradleys and Abrams bring the speed

American soldiers drive a Bradley fighting vehicle during a joint exercise with Syrian Democratic Forces in north-eastern Syria, in December 2021. AP

As well as maintenance, the Nato systems also bring capabilities the Ukrainians need to have the edge over Russian forces.

Mr Whiteside said the infantry carrying Bradley has excellent all-round visibility from five periscopes and powerful thermal imagery devices ― which many Russian armoured vehicles lack.

This proved its worth in bloody urban battles such as Fallujah in Iraq and could prove useful for Ukraine, with potential looming urban battles in cities such as Melitopol.

The Bradley was designed to keep up with the remarkably fast M1 Abrams with a top speed of 72 kph giving users a speed advantage.

In deployments in Kuwait, they covered “hundreds of kilometres a day. And it was ridiculous, just how fast we could go,” he said.

“The Bradley was originally designed to complement the Abrams and allow it to have infantry because tanks without infantry, as the Russians clearly demonstrated early in the conflict, means leaving a tank out on its own and vulnerable to a single trained soldier with a light anti-tank weapon that can take it out from behind. We saw video after video of these Russian tanks getting killed because they weren't using combined arms tactics, which is a mix of infantry to protect the tanks and then the shock power of a tank on the attack,” Mr Whiteside added.

Even without these new systems, Ukraine’s military has shown it can employ speed to stun and overwhelm Russian lines.

In less than a week in September, Ukrainian forces regained 6,000 square kilometres of terrain, indicating they are able to make lighting advances, even without top western military equipment.