US, Dutch, and Czechs partner to supply T-72B tanks to Ukraine
Ukraine's 90 T-72B tanks will benefit from advanced optics, communications, and armour packages. (Photo: DVIDS)
The US, Netherlands and Czech Republic have partnered to provide Ukraine with 90 overhauled T-72B main battle tanks, according to a 4 November announcement.
Deliveries of the tanks to Ukraine will begin before the end of December and last through till 2023.
The supply of the tanks will bolster Ukraine’s armoured fighting capacity and complement T-72s already provided by other countries.
The US and Netherlands have agreed to jointly fund a Czech industrial initiative – coordinated by the Czech MoD. The 90 tanks will come from Czech defence industry inventories. While the Czech industrial partners were not specified, both Excalibur Army and VOP CZ list T-72 upgrade work among their capabilities.
The tanks are part of $400 million in security assistance for Ukraine under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI).
The latest USAI package also provides for refurbishing Hawk air defence missiles so they can be included in a future Presidential drawdown.
Other support includes 1,100 Phoenix Ghost UAS, 40 armoured riverine boats and funds to refurbish 250 M1117 armoured vehicles.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Land Warfare
-
Paris Air Show 2025: MBDA bets on carmaker to help make new one-way effector
The One-Way Effector (OWE) is a ground-launched missile or drome designed to act as a swarm to overwhelm air defence systems. It was displayed for the first time in Paris this week.
-
UK artillery factory opens as defence review inches forward
The new artillery and howitzer factory pre-dates the emphasis on this capability from this month’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR). The first joint industry-government meeting outlined in the review took place this week.
-
Precision Strike Missile engine successfully tested from M270A2 launcher
Lockheed Martin’s Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) is a next-generation surface-to-surface missile with the solid rocket motor (SRM) provided by Northrop Grumman. The company is working to boost its SRM production capability.