The Assault Breacher is an armored vehicle that is rated to be able to clear minefields 10 times faster than engineers working by hand.
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| Assault Breacher armored vehicle in Ukraine. (Source: Forbes) |
The US government has secretly transferred some of its most powerful Assault Breacher armored vehicles to Ukraine.
The transfer was made without any formal announcement from Washington. It is possible that the US government classified the vehicles as “mine clearance equipment” in its announcements of military assistance to Ukraine.
The Assault Breacher is an armored vehicle built on the chassis of a 55-ton Abrams tank. It is one of the most maneuverable and well-protected vehicles. It can overcome obstacles such as anti-tank ditches, minefields and obstacles.
Corporal Jonathan Murray, a Marine Corps mechanic, said the vehicle could clear minefields 10 times faster than engineers working by hand. The Assault Breacher has all the features of the Leopard 2R – a bulldozer with a thick armored hull – but also incorporates a linear discharge device that can detonate mines hundreds of metres away.
Earlier on November 3, the US Department of Defense announced a new military aid package worth $425 million for Ukraine, including anti-aircraft and artillery ammunition as well as anti-tank weapons to support Kiev in its conflict with Russia.
The items — along with small arms ammunition, fragmentation rounds and other items — are part of a $125 million shipment of equipment taken from existing US military stocks.
The new aid package – which also includes $300 million worth of laser-guided munitions to intercept unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) – will be funded through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI).
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