AP Ukraine pulls US-provided Abrams tanks from the front lines over Russian drone threats
BY TARA COPP Updated 8:00 PM EDT, April 25, 2024
POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukraine has sidelined U.S.-provided Abrams M1A1 battle tanks for now in its fight against Russia, in part because Russian drone warfare has made it too difficult for them to operate without detection or coming under attack, two U.S. military officials told The Associated Press.
The U.S. agreed to send 31 Abrams to Ukraine in January 2023 after an aggressive monthslong campaign by Kyiv arguing that the tanks, which cost about $10 million apiece, were vital to its ability to breach Russian lines.
But the battlefield has changed substantially since then, notably by the ubiquitous use of Russian surveillance drones and hunter-killer drones. Those weapons have made it more difficult for Ukraine to protect the tanks when they are quickly detected and hunted by Russian drones or rounds.
Five of the 31 tanks have already been lost to Russian attacks.
The proliferation of drones on the Ukrainian battlefield means “there isn’t open ground that you can just drive across without fear of detection,” a senior defense official told reporters Thursday.
China Builds Up its Presence Ahead of Historic U.S.-Philippine Exercise
PUBLISHED APR 23, 2024 9:58 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE
China has doubled the presence of maritime militia and military vessels in and around the Philippine exclusive economic zone in advance of major U.S.-Philippine naval drills, according to the Armed Forces of the Philippines. 124 Chinese vessels are in the area, with the largest concentrations found near three strategic locations: Scarborough Shoal, Second Thomas Shoal and Pag-asa Island.
"This upsurge is out of the normal," Philippine Navy spokesman Commodore Roy Trinidad told GMA. For the last two months, the Chinese maritime presence has ranged from 33-69 vessels, he said, with an average of 60.
China's coast guard has attacked Philippine supply boats near Second Thomas Shoal in the recent past, and the maritime militia has played a key role in Chinese blockades. Though the uptick in presence is concerning, Trinidad said that the AFP expects Chinese forces to "behave" during the exercises because the U.S. Navy will be there.
"I don’t expect them to do anything illegal because of the presence of foreign warships," Trinidad told Rappler. "Historically, the illegal, unprovoked, uncalled-for actions of China will only be [towards the Philippines]."
Beijing's English-language opinion outlet, Global Times, has expressed outrage that the Philippines will be using an aging Chinese-built product tanker for a sinking exercise as part of the Balikitan 2024 maneuvers. The BRP Lake Caliraya - a decommissioned Philippine Navy oiler - will be targeted with U.S. Navy and Philippine Navy missiles until sunk. Lake Caliraya once belonged to the Philippine National Oil Company, and it was built to merchant tanker specifications by a Chinese shipyard.
"It is a ludicrous performance by Manila . . . showing clear provocative intent," complained Global Times. "We hope that the Philippines will not allow the 'spiritual victory' of sinking target ships to make them too excited, leading to the illusion that they can take on real ships."
The Philippine Navy had planned to use Lake Caliraya as a target ship at least as early as July 2023. The first attempt failed when the derelict tanker drifted aground in a storm. It has since been refloated and prepped for Balikatan 2024.
"The vessel has been used in the Philippines for a very long, long time," Philippine Navy Vice Adm. Toribio Adaci told 24 Oras. "Just like in any sinking exercise around the world, they use old vessels as the target of the exercise and the same thing we are doing with Lake Caliraya." https://maritime-executive.com/arti...head-of-historic-u-s-philippine-exercise
As many of you know, I've been quite busy since my mom died a couple weeks ago (and not going to end any time soon,) so I haven't been able to put up a new episode of Mob Fireside Chat....BUT this coming week...I'm going to be putting together a video on none other than Dominick Nuccio...you know, "the hitman who wasn't hitman." We've had so many requests to make this into a video, and because it was such a popular FREE article on our Button Guys website, I thought it would definitely be a good one to do.
It's also kind of fitting since I'm going to be moving to the same area where Nuccio lived which was also Ross Prio's old stomping grounds. Definitely looking forward to exploring all that history IN PERSON.
