Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has resulted in a devastating loss of military equipment,
especially its tanks. According to a new report by the International
Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS), a specialist thinktank,
Russia has lost nearly 40% of its prewar fleet of tanks after nine months of fighting1.
This amounts to more than 1,000 tanks destroyed or captured by the Ukrainian forces.
The report, titled The Military Balance 2023, says that Russia started the war with about
2,700 main battle tanks, but now has only about 1,600 left.
The report also estimates that Russia has lost over 2,000 other armored vehicles,
such as infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers.
The IISS says that these losses are "a significant blow to Russia’s conventional
capabilities and its regional influence". The report adds that Russia’s tank losses
are "the highest for any modern conflict involving major powers".
The reasons behind the losses
The IISS attributes Russia’s tank losses to several factors, including:
The advanced anti-tank weapons that Western countries have supplied to Ukraine, such as the
Javelin and the NLAW missiles, which can hit tanks from above where the armor is weakest.
The poor tactics and morale of the Russian tank units,
which often launched frontal assaults without adequate infantry support or reconnaissance.
The effective resistance and counterattacks of the Ukrainian forces, which have used drones,
artillery and air strikes to target Russian tanks.
The report also notes that Russia has faced difficulties in replacing its lost tanks,
due to sanctions, budget constraints and production bottlenecks.
The report says that Russia has only been able to produce about 300 new tanks since
the start of the war, and has had to rely on older models from its reserves.
The implications for the future The IISS warns that Russia’s tank losses could
have serious implications for the future of the war and the region. The report says that Russia’s
tank force is now "stretched thin" and "vulnerable to further attrition". The report also says that
Russia’s tank losses could limit its ability to launch new offensives or to defend its gains.
The report suggests that Russia may have to resort to other means to achieve its goals in Ukraine,
such as using more hybrid warfare, cyberattacks or nuclear threats. The report also says that
Russia may seek to compensate for its tank losses by deploying more tactical nuclear
weapons in Belarus, which has agreed to host them after years of pressure from Moscow5.
The report concludes that the Ukraine war has shown that "tanks are not invincible"
and that "modern warfare requires a balanced mix of capabilities and skills". The report
calls for more international efforts to support Ukraine and to deter further Russian aggression.
The Paladin M109A7 next-generation artillery system being manufactured by BAE Systems is a
significant upgrade to the combat-proven M109A6 Paladin cannon artillery system.
The enhanced artillery system offers key fire support for a variety of potential
combat missions conducted by the US Army’s Armored Brigade Combat Teams
(ABCTs) in conventional, hybrid, irregular, and counterinsurgency combat environments.
The vehicle is controlled by a crew of four and has an overall length of 9.7m, a width of 3.9m,
a height of 3.7m, and a maximum gross weight of 35,380kg. It features digital backbone
architecture and incorporates an onboard digital fire control system to provide
fire mission and compute firing data to the M109A7 cannon system. It also consists of a
position navigation system and a computer with comprehensive diagnostics programs.
The new artillery system can select and take up firing positions,
and automatically unlock and point its cannon while on the move.
The Paladin M109A7 artillery system is armed with a 155mm M284 cannon with an M182A1 gun
mount and an automated loader. The 155mm artillery system can fire at a sustained
rate of one round a minute whereas the maximum rate of fire is four rounds a minute. The system
has a range of 22km with standard projectiles and 30km with rocket-assisted projectiles.
The Paladin PIM vehicle is powered by a 600hp engine.
The propulsion system also consists of electric elevation and traverse drives,
an electric rammer, L3 HMPT-500 automatic transmission, and an onboard power system
with a generating capacity of 70kW at a rate of 600V DC / 28V DC.
The vehicle has a fuel storage capacity of 545l and a ground clearance of 0.4m.
It can ford at a maximum depth of 1.0m and cross trenches with depths of 1.8m.
The gradient and side slopes of the vehicle are 60% and 40% respectively,
while the on-road speed is 61km/h and the cruising range is 322km.
The Thunderbolt was heavy, powerful,
and powerfully armed. It could also take a beating and limp back to base in one piece.
Compared to other contemporary fighters, the P-47 was a beast:
it weighed nearly 10,000 pounds and had a large diameter, rather wide fuselage. One
article colorfully described the plane after its early 1940 debut: “Powered by a 2,000-horsepower
Ford-built 18-cylinder two-row Pratt & Whitney turbo-supercharged engine, swinging a 12-foot
four-bladed Curtis-electric propeller, it can climb like a homesick angel; shoot like
the devil with eight heavy-caliber machine guns, and fight at any altitude the pilot can endure.”
Not only was the P-47 a hefty fighter, but it was heavily armed as well. The fighter
could fire not two—not four—but a total of 8 .50 caliber heavy machine guns mounted inside
the plane’s wing simultaneously, making it a powerful air-to-air fighter. One
general stated—rather shockingly—that the P-47’s 8 guns generated the same amount of
impact as a 5-ton truck hitting a brick wall at 60 miles per hour. Incredible.
Upgrades to the airplane’s onboard fuel capacity as well as additional fuel provided by drop tanks
saw the plane’s range steadily increase. Eventually, the P-47’s role morphed from
purely fighter or bomber escort platform to a fighter-bomber. By attaching 1,000-pound bombs
to the bottom of the plane’s fuselage as well as unguided rockets under the P-47’s wings,
the airplane was more than capable of attacking ground targets rather effectively.
Today, the P-47’s legacy lives on in the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II,
named in honor of the World War II fighter. Like its sturdy predecessor,
the A-10 Thunderbolt also enjoys a reputation for extreme durability and ruggedness:
Thanks to 1,200 pounds of titanium armor plating surrounding the pilot and cockpit,
the A-10 is able to resist 23mm cannon projectiles as well as some fire from rounds as large as 57mm.