Despite President Biden’s promise to send 31 Abrams M1 tanks to Ukraine on Wednesday, it could reportedly be months before the artillery arrives.
The New York Post reported that Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh confirmed that the US does not currently have enough M1 Abrams tanks in stock to send to Ukraine.
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Army M1A1 Abrams tank fires during the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group’s Crystal Arrow 2021 military exercise in Adazi, Latvia March 26, 2021 Portal/Ints Kalnins/File Photo
“We just don’t have an excess of these tanks in our US inventories, so it will take months to transfer these M1A2 Abrams to Ukraine,” Singh told the Post.
BIDEN AUTHORIZES SHIPPING OF 31 M1 ABRAMS TANKS TO UKRAINE, IN REVERSE
If the tanks were owned by the Pentagon, it would take less than a week to pack and ship the tanks. But if you use the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative or USAI program, it can take months or years because the government does the procurement to identify and hire contractors to build the weapons.
Biden announced the weapons approval on Wednesday, just hours after Chancellor Olaf Scholtz said Ukraine will also get Leopard 2 tanks from Berlin as Russia plans a major offensive.
President Biden speaks in Los Angeles on inflation and supply chain issues. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of Defense joined President Antony Blinkin in calling the tanks “the most capable tanks in the world” that will enhance Ukraine’s battlefield capabilities.
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“This is about freedom, freedom for Ukraine, freedom everywhere,” Biden said.
The decision to send tanks came after weeks of stalled and frustrated negotiations with Germany, which top defense officials described as a “product of good diplomatic talks”.
Earlier this month, Germany indicated it would not agree to sending its tanks to Ukraine unless the US did likewise, citing concerns about an escalation of the war.
Located in Arlington, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington, DC, the Pentagon has served as the US military’s epicenter since the 1940s, housing the Department of Defense, Army, Navy, and Air Force. (Photo by Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
While senior defense officials declined to confirm whether the decision was a condition of Berlin or a motivation for Washington to get Germany to use the Leopard tanks, the move has been championed as a sign of long-term support for Ukraine.
The US has already delivered thousands of combat vehicles, including 1,700 Humvees, and earlier this month pledged to send another 500 armored vehicles of various types.
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The Abrams tanks will be procured through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative and will not come directly from US inventories.
It remains unclear how long it will take to get the Abrams tanks operational in Ukraine, and defense officials did not say where the training will take place, although it has been confirmed that the training would take place outside of Ukraine.
Fox News’ Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.
Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.