• The U.S. government will send 31 M1A2 Abrams tanks to Ukraine.
  • They will include many features of the U.S. Army’s own tank units.
  • One feature they won’t include: a layer of ultra-thick depleted uranium armor.

In a remarkable turnaround, the Biden Administration has pledged M1 Abrams tanks to aid Ukraine. The good news is that the tanks will be the newer M1A2 variant, meaning Ukrainian tankers will get many of the same features as their American counterparts. The bad news: the tanks won’t have the secret depleted uranium armor, standard on U.S. Army tanks, as part of their protective matrix.

When Will Ukraine Get M1 Abrams Tanks?

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A soldier of the U.S. Army 1st Raider Brigade walks past tanks at the Grafenwoehr training grounds on July 13, 2022, near Grafenwoehr, Germany.

President Biden’s announcement on January 25 earmarks 31 M1 Abrams tanks for the Ukrainian Armed Forces; the tanks are part of a surge of tank donations that includes Leopard 2 tanks from Germany, Norway, Poland, and other NATO countries. Even Morocco has sent tanks in recent days: 20 older T-72 series tanks, similar to those the Ukrainian army currently uses.

However, Ukraine won’t get the tanks right away. According to Politico, Ukraine will get remanufactured M1 tanks—fully refurbished old tank hulls and turrets that are brought in from the high, dry desert at California’s Sierra Army Depot. It’s the same process the U.S. Army uses when it receives “new” tanks; there are thousands of older tanks around, so it doesn’t make sense to build new ones.

There’s just one catch: before Ukraine sees any M1 Abrams shipments, the U.S. must strip the tanks of their depleted uranium protection.

40 Years of Upgrades

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PFC David Dumas, US Army/DVIDS
An American and a Polish soldier discuss the crew remotely operated weapons system (CROWS) on an M1A2SepV3 tank. CROWS is an upgrade for the M1 Abrams that allows the crew to fire the .50-caliber machine gun while protected under armor.

The M1 Abrams tank first entered service in 1981, and is still the only U.S. Army main battle tank in service today. The M1 has been progressively upgraded over the decades, with the Army taking older hulls and turrets, stripping them down, and then installing new equipment.

Today’s M1A2 includes all of the older upgrades, including the larger, more powerful M256 120-millimeter smoothbore gun. It also includes thermal night equipment not only for the gunner, but for the driver and the commander, too. The Commander’s Independent Thermal Viewer (CITV) allows the commander to identify targets, hand them off to the gunner for destruction, and then quickly scan for more threats.

There are many types of M1A2s, but not all of their features will show up in Ukraine. One useful feature is a remote-controlled M2 .50-caliber machine gun. Meanwhile, there are also bullet-resistant glass shields for the tank commander and loader that were introduced during the Iraq War, and deployed as the Tank Urban Survival Kit (TUSK). A new under armor auxiliary power unit allows an Abrams tank to power up its sensors and electronics without running its gas-turbine engine. This “silent watch” mode allows the tank to scan for threats, while running quietly and with a reduced infrared signature.

Depleted Uranium Armor Is an Export Nightmare

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U.S. Army soldiers on an M1 Abrams tank during a multinational exercise at Hohenfels Training Area.

One of the earliest upgrades to the M1 was its armor protection. The United States, at the time still locked in the Cold War, had placed a premium on improving the tank’s firepower and protection. In the late 1980s, the Army made the decision to install a layer of depleted uranium in the Abrams’ frontal armor, a decision that has had lasting consequences to this day.

Depleted uranium is a form of byproduct waste created through the nuclear energy process. In order for uranium to be useful in nuclear weapons or in nuclear reactors, raw uranium ore is “enriched,” removing the most radioactive isotope, uranium-235. The remaining, less-radioactive uranium is known as depleted uranium.


☢️ More Radioactive Reads


Depleted uranium is radioactive, but not considered a threat outside the body. However, as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency states, “if [depleted uranium] is ingested or inhaled, it is a serious health hazard. Alpha particles directly affect living cells and can cause kidney damage.”

At about $30 a pound, depleted uranium is relatively inexpensive; it’s also 2.5 times as dense as steel, making it useful for stopping kinetic energy penetrators, dart-like anti-tank rounds fired from enemy tanks.

Exactly how depleted uranium is used in the armor matrix is a secret, and the U.S. government has a policy of not exporting it—even to America’s closest allies. Australia’s existing 59 M1A1 Abrams tanks lack depleted uranium armor, and its new M1A2SepV3 tanks will also go without it.

Could Ukraine Get Depleted Uranium Tanks Anyway?

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U.S. Army Abrams tanks of the 2nd Brigade 69th Regiment 2nd Battalion are pictured at Mockava railway station in Lithuania, on September 5, 2020.

The Ukraine-bound tanks will be rebuilt without depleted uranium, a process that will take several months. But this is war, and the Ukrainian army is projected to launch new offensives in the spring. So, could Ukraine get the tanks sooner?

Germany and the other NATO allies plan to have the first Leopard 2 tanks racing across the battlefield by spring. It will not look good for the U.S. government if Abrams tanks fail to participate in these offensives. Meanwhile, hundreds of the relatively new Abrams tanks are sitting in prepositioned equipment sites around the world, including Europe, ready for regional contingencies.

The prohibition on exporting depleted-uranium-shielded tanks is a policy decision. Unlike the prohibition on selling the F-22 Raptor abroad, which is a federal law, a policy decision can be reversed. For example, a previous U.S. government policy ruled out sending tanks to Ukraine. Policy decisions can be reversed quickly, given enough pressure, as last week’s news makes clear. If Abrams tanks sit on the bench while Leopard 2 tanks grab all the glory, that pressure could materialize.

Headshot of Kyle Mizokami
Kyle Mizokami

Kyle Mizokami is a writer on defense and security issues and has been at Popular Mechanics since 2015. If it involves explosions or projectiles, he's generally in favor of it. Kyle’s articles have appeared at The Daily Beast, U.S. Naval Institute News, The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, Combat Aircraft Monthly, VICE News, and others. He lives in San Francisco.