On Friday, the latest American weapon package for Ukraine was unveiled. It includes the most powerful weapons to strike at logistical targets and push back Russian troops. These weapons come with a catch: They won’t be deployed on the battlefield in time to combat a Moscow-led broad assault that has apparently begun in eastern Ukraine.
This is also true for most Western tanks, fighting vehicles, and air-defense missiles which were promised by President Volodymyr Zilensky of Ukraine after months of pleas.
The most sophisticated weapons will require extensive training for Ukrainian troops who have never used them. This can take months or even a year.
And some of the arms — like the rocket-propelled guided bombs that the United States is now offering in the $2.17 billion package — have to be retrofitted from existing stocks or even built from scratch.
Already, Ukrainian forces are struggling to hold territory against Russia’s latest offensive, and Moscow is believed to be mobilizing at least 200,000 additional soldiers and possibly more.
“It is a race for time now,” Heinrich Brauss, an ex-NATO assistant secretary general for defense and force planning, said the following:
We take a look at some of the promised weapons and what it will take to get them.
What weapons are in the pipeline?
Since the outbreak of war on Feb. 24, 2022, NATO states have already shipped weapons to Ukraine in the amount of tens and billions of dollars. However, Mr. Zelensky has advocated for Patriot air defense systems for protecting infrastructure from Russian airstrikes and Western main battle tank and infantry fighting vehicle for ground combat.
Last week, he also renewed his request for F-16 fighter jets that could potentially down Russian cruise missiles or could otherwise clear Ukraine’s airspace. Over the last two months alone, the United States and its allies have given in on almost all Ukraine’s weapons requests but the jets.
“Since Russia is four times as populous as Ukraine, the Ukrainian armed forces need Western weapons to overmatch the Russian armed forces technologically, or else Ukraine will lose the war,” Peter W. Mansoor is a former Army colonel and armour officer, who is now a military historian for Ohio State University.
They are not expected to arrive soon, however.
It will take so long, why?
This varies from weapon-to-waffe. In the case of the longer-range missiles that were pledged Friday, most haven’t even been built yet.
Relatively cheap and usable in rocket launchers that have already been sent to Ukraine, these weapons, known as Small Diameter Bombs, are the Biden administration’s answer to Mr. Zelensky’s request for long-range munitions — without sending the most sophisticated American missiles that officials fear could be used to strike Russian territory.
A Pentagon spokesperson, Brigadier General Pat Ryder, stated Friday that the bombs would help Ukraine “to conduct operations in defense of their country and to take their sovereign territory in Russian occupied areas.”
These weapons actually consist of two different munitions. One is a 250-pound bomb attached on to an older type rocket. They were Many years ago, Saab and Boeing developed it. These weapons are not being used at the moment by American troops.
Bradley Bowman, a former U.S. Army Officer and senior military expert at Foundation of Defense of Democracies, Washington, stated that it will likely take nine months for even a small shipment of 24 bombs or two launchers to reach Ukraine. He said that manufacturers could send as many as 750 bombs to Ukraine once production is in place.
“The bottom line is, yes, it will take some time,” Mr. Bowman.
He said that this was no reason to withhold bombs.
“No one knows how long this war will last,” Mr. Bowman stated that the situation could be resolved next week or for as long as 20 years.
Special training is required for most of the weapons promised.
What length of training will it last?
It all depends on what weapon you have, and each country has its own timeline.
According to the International Tanker Association, training for the estimated 100 tanks pledged by Britain, Germany and Poland and at least half-dozen other NATO countries requires at least three months and sometimes up to one year. American European Military experts and officials.
Officials are trying to reduce the time it takes to train Leopard 2 tanks made by Germany to just a few weeks. According to a Western defense official, they will aim to finish the training within six weeks for hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers arriving in Germany and Poland. First reported by the Financial Times.
This week, the first Ukrainian unit to receive training on British-made Challenger 2 tanks arrived at the United Kingdom. Defense Ministry spoke on Twitter. The United States has yet to announce when it will start training on its M1 Abrams tanks.
For protection against Russian attacks of power grids and other infrastructure, Ukrainian troops will need to be trained on the Patriot air-defense systems.
Each of the United States and Germany has committed to sending Ukraine one Patriot Battery. This generally includes trucks with radar, control system, generators, and launching stations capable firing multiple missiles simultaneously. The Netherlands is also Sending part of the Patriot system.
Training for approximately 100 Ukrainian troops in the United States began in Oklahoma at an Army Base in January. “expected to last several months,” General Ryder stated this last month. According to a Berlin official, Germany has been training around 70 Ukrainians in the Patriot system. France and Italy both announced Friday that they would send air defense system similar to Patriot missiles but didn’t specify when or how many.
Is Ukraine likely to receive any new weapons in the near future?
Deliveries of some armored combat units that were promised last week appear to be just days away
The French defense minister, Sébastien Lecornu, said last week that the first of the AMX-10 combat reconnaissance vehicles that Paris has promised could be delivered in early February.
According to a second European defense officer, an initial batch of Bradley Fighting Vehicles (armored) from the United States was being shipped to a North Sea port in order to reach Ukraine. German forces also began training Ukraine troops on the Marder fighting vehicle, Berlin promised.
What about tanks?
Tanks will take more time, partly because they have longer training programs and also because it takes time to move heavy war machines around the battlefield.
This process is unpredictable. Alex Chalk, a top British defense ministry official, was last week. Telled Parliament It is possible that the Challenger tanks might be in Ukraine at March’s end. Ben Wallace, the Defense Minister was appointed days later.The senate was informed The tanks would be delivered in “May, or probably toward Easter time” In April,
The German defense minister, Boris Pistorius, initially predicted it would take three months for Berlin’s Leopards to reach Ukraine, then said they could arrive by late March or early April.
The Pentagon was much more positive about its timeline to deliver the Abrams tanks. Sabrina Singh, a spokesperson for the Pentagon, said so. According to reporters That was last week “it is going to take months.”
Russia can be outmatched by Ukraine “with the weapons it has been promised,” According to Mr. Mansoor, “but not likely until late summer at the earliest.”
How about fighter jets?
So far, Ukraine’s requests for F-16s have been rejected by President Biden and by Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany.
That could change: Both leaders have relented to Ukraine’s requests as the war grows more dire, and other NATO states signal they would send their own warplanes if Washington and Berlin took the lead. However, even if they approve them, it will require Ukrainian pilots. “couple of weeks” To learn how to fly the jets “about six months” Yurii Ihnat (spokesman for Ukrainian Air Force) stated that the goal is to learn how to fight with aircraft.
Brauss, a former NATO official, and a retired German general said Russia would likely attempt to take advantage of the war’s momentum before Western weapons reach it.
“So much time has been wasted,” He said.
Eric Schmitt, John Ismay Christopher F. Schuetze Contributed reporting