At least 11 people have been killed in Russia’s heavy-handed attack on Ukraine

The US will send the M1A2 Abrams tank to Ukraine, which has significantly improved its capabilities compared to the previous M1A1 model.

Sabrina Singh, the Pentagon’s deputy press secretary, confirmed Thursday that the M1A2 will be the version of the Abrams supplied to the Ukrainians. He said the US “doesn’t have this excess of tanks in our stockpile” and that it would “take months” to transfer the tanks to Ukraine.

The M1A2 is a significant upgrade to the older M1A1, mainly because of the A2’s performance In a digital systemUnlike the A1’s analog system.

It’s “the difference between a plug-in phone — a rotary phone — and an iPhone you’re holding in your hand,” explained retired Army Gen. Robert Abrams, former commander of U.S. forces in Korea. 70 liter tank ton.

American officials It was announced this week After days of back-and-forth between the US and its allies, 31 Abrams tanks will be sent to Ukraine. Officials have not yet announced which tank variant they will choose, and Army acquisition chief Doug Bush told reporters Tuesday that the decision is still being discussed.

More about Tanks: US President Joe Biden said from the White House on Wednesday that the tanks would “enhance Ukraine’s ability to defend its territory and achieve its strategic objectives”.

In addition to the digital transformation with the A2, the new version of the tank is “significantly” more lethal than the A1, Abrams said. Includes a separate heat vision from the commander. Previously only the gunner had a thermal platform, now the tank commander also has one, which enables him to scan and identify targets. The digital system allows tank crews to run their own on-board diagnostics, Abrams said, instead of waiting to run mechanical tests to determine any problems.

When it comes down to it, Abrams said, the M1A2 is “far superior in terms of lethality, survivability and mobility” than anything Russia has on the battlefield.

It is not clear which variant of the A2 tank. There are three of them, will be selected. Singh declined to say so during a Pentagon briefing on Thursday, and Bush declined to say so on Wednesday.

Concerns about the logistics and maintenance of each variant — often cited as one of the reasons the U.S. is reluctant to send the Abrams — won’t weigh much in the end, Bush said.

Bush explained that the military does not produce new tanks from scratch, but instead modifies existing older models. “That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s easy or quick,” he added, but they don’t have to be created from scratch at the moment.

CNN’s Michael Conte contributed to this post.