Forbes: Dirt in engine filters is the biggest problem of Abrams M1 tanks in Ukraine

Author:
Anna Kholodnova
Date:

The biggest problem of the American M1 Abrams tanks in Ukraine is the filters in the intake holes of the engines. They prevent contamination and destruction of the engine and require regular thorough cleaning.

Forbes magazine writes about it.

If the tank filters are not cleaned every 12 hours, the publication writes, it can damage the engine so much that it will have to be removed and, probably, the transmission, and the car sent to Poland for a long overhaul.

Twice a day, the M1 crew must rev their tankʼs engine to high RPMs per minute to trigger a pulse-jet system that ejects air from the tank, along with dust and debris from the rear grill.

"All these things can be taught to the crew, but if they ever make a mistake — and they will — it will destroy a million-dollar engine that cannot be repaired in the field," retired US Army General Mark Hertling told The Kyiv Independent.

In addition, 68-ton tanks require a lot of fuel. US Deputy Defense Secretary Laura Cooper called Abrams a "gasoline guzzler." It travels only about a kilometer on almost 4 liters of fuel. The US Army fuels its M1s with jet fuel, while other countriesʼ militaries put cheaper diesel into their Abrams. For example, this is what the Australian army does.

Replacing jet fuel with diesel does not significantly affect the performance of the M1. So there is every reason to believe that the Ukrainian army will save fuel reserves if it refuels American tanks with diesel.