Australia Completes Delivery of 49 M1A1 Abrams Tanks to Ukraine

Australia has completed the delivery of 49 M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks to Ukraine, fulfilling a direct request from Kyiv as the war with Russia continues.

The Australian Defence Force confirmed that the final tranche of tanks was handed recently, bringing to a close a months-long operation to transport the vehicles from Australia to Europe and onward to Ukraine. Most of the tanks arrived in July, with several already deployed to frontline units.

The donation is valued at about $245 million and forms part of more than $1.7 billion in total Australian assistance to Ukraine since the conflict began, including over $1.5 billion in military aid.

The tanks were shipped from Geelong on a 55-day sea journey to Europe before final preparations were completed. The last stage of fit-out and readiness work took about a week to ensure the vehicles were operational before handover.

The completion of the tank transfer follows Australia’s announcement of a new $95 million military assistance package for Ukraine. The package includes $43 million worth of defence materiel such as tactical air defence radars, munitions and combat engineering equipment, along with a $2 million contribution to the Drone Capability Coalition.