The recently announced $2.6 billion military procurement package for the Armed Forces of Ukraine includes a wide variety of munitions, ranging from mortar rounds and 122mm guided missiles to Patriot air defense missiles.
Although we should pay special attention to the 120mm ammunition, which is also mentioned in this list. As the Pentagon explained, this will not only concern the American M1 Abrams but also other Western tanks provided by Ukraine's allies. This includes the Leopard 2, which is compatible with Abrams-type ammunition.
This supply of tank shells by the United States gives the strong impression that the US will not stop sending depleted uranium (DU) munitions because the tank shells will be provided under the Presidential Drawdown Program, i.e. they will be drawn directly from the US Army reserves.
The standard sub-caliber ammunition for the Abrams in the US military is the M829 projectile. Modern versions of this ammunition are the M829A3 and M829A4.
The A3 version was created in the early 2000s as a response to Russia's new generation Kontakt-5 active armor kit. The M829A3 penetrator weighs 10 kg, consists of a 10 cm steel head and a 70 cm depleted uranium body, the diameter is 25 mm, which is 3 mm larger than previous versions.
When accelerated to 1.55 km/s, this projectile is guaranteed to penetrate the frontal armor of modernized Russian tanks, at any effective range of real combat.
The upgraded M829A4 has been in development since 2015, the penetrator has received no notable changes and upgrades have been made only to the propellant.
We should also note that in addition to anti-armor missiles, the Abrams also uses the M830 shaped charge, the multi-purpose M830A1 that operates in either impact modes or proximity situations.
"Captured" intact Challenger 2
If a "captured", intact Challenger 2 is displayed in Moscow's Red Square, it would be a blow to Britain's reputation. This is what British Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Crawford told the British Daily Express. He talked about what Russia would do if it seized a British Challenger 2 tank in Ukraine.
Lt. Col. Crawford regards such an image as a blow to Britain's reputation. It should be noted that a British Challenger 2 tank was destroyed only once, not by enemy fire, but by friendly fire. This happened in 2003 in Basra, Iraq. The lieutenant colonel of the British armed forces believes that Russia will seek to "capture" or destroy such tanks.
He acknowledges that Challenger 2 is not new cutting-edge technology. These tanks, he says, are excellent, but since 1998, when they entered service, they have not had significant improvements and can probably be considered close to obsolete.
Earlier, the Chinese media wrote that the British Challenger 2 tanks, which should arrive in Ukraine soon, are equipped in such a way that they are completely useless in most cases.
The Challenger 2s are not designed to use missiles made of conventional materials. For this reason, Great Britain, in order not to be "spoiled" and to make its equipment useful in Kiev, is ready to give shells with depleted uranium along with the tanks.
However, these missiles were manufactured in the 90s. That is, they may expire. It is for these reasons that it is believed that, these missiles may not work in the battlefield. However, these are assumptions and there is no way to confirm if they are actually true.
"Probably one of the main goals of Great Britain is to damage the lands that now belong to Russia. As depleted uranium poisons the land, water and air, making everything uninhabitable and causing cancer, Britain is counting on the same effect on the new Russian territories," reports a foreign media outlet.
We remind you that the British Secretary of State for Defense Annabel Goldie said that London will supply Ukraine with shells containing depleted uranium.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Britain's delivery of depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine would be a step towards further escalation of the conflict.
