Europe keeps buying tanks even as their role shrinks in Ukraine's war
Experience in Ukraine suggests tanks are used less and less in combat because of drone threats. Even so, European NATO members keep ordering new ones, writes Roberts Rasums in an opinion piece for Delfi.
European countries are continuing to order new tanks, even though the war in Ukraine suggests the vehicles matter less on the battlefield. This is argued by Roberts Rasums in an opinion piece for the Latvian news portal Delfi. The text reflects the author's view, not necessarily the editorial position.
Lessons from Ukraine
In August this year, Oleksandr Syrskyi, the former commander of Ukraine's Armed Forces, told The New York Times that Ukraine practically no longer uses tanks. Academic studies of the war increasingly describe it as the "first true drone war". Kateryna Bondar, a senior researcher at the US think tank CSIS, notes that Ukraine is gradually moving away from combat operations built around heavy armoured vehicles.
A broad US Army study in 2023 concluded that M1A2 Abrams tanks would not be able to dominate a potential battle against China in 2040. The newer M1A2 SEP V3&4 version would improve combat capability but would not restore superiority. In September, soldiers of Ukraine's 425th Assault Brigade said that American M1A1 tanks supplied by Australia were not yet taking part in combat because of the drone threat.
European purchases
Tanks remain near the top of NATO members' procurement lists. Poland, Lithuania, Romania, Croatia, Czechia and Norway are expecting deliveries soon. Over the past year Romania announced the purchase of 216 tanks, adding to an earlier order of 54 M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams. Italy plans to buy 380 KF-51 Panther tanks, a joint Rheinmetall and Leonardo design still under development. Germany and Slovakia plan additional Leopard 2A8 tanks.
