Although the total cost of a single four-person Abrams tank can change, the figure can top $10 million per unit when training and maintenance is factored in.
The Leopard 2 A7+, the latest iteration of the Leopard 2 main battle tank, has a top speed of more than 43 mph, and a range of 280 miles.
Figures on the costs of different variants of the Leopard 2 tanks range, but largely fall around the $6 million mark.
Figures on the costs of different variants of the Leopard 2 tanks range, but largely fall around the $6 million mark.
Previous estimates for the price of a Challenger 2 placed the bill per unit at around $4.9 million.
Southern Ukraine is flat and ideal tank territory. Russia has been building rows of trenches and fortified bunkers to stop a Ukrainian advance in the area.
The British first used hundreds of tanks at the battle of Cambrai in November 1917 - to end the deadlock of static trench warfare. Initially they made significant advances, but many tanks soon broke down and a German counter offensive turned British gains into losses.
In 1940, tanks were used by the retreating British and French armies at Arras to stall the Nazi invasion, allowing the subsequent evacuation of British troops from Dunkirk.
Tanks are the tip of the spear, designed to move quickly over open ground.
The Challenger 2, Leopard 2 and M1 Abrams are faster than most Russian-made tanks with speeds of more than 25mph (40km per hour) on rough terrain.
The Challenger 2, Leopard 2 and M1 Abrams are faster than most Russian-made tanks with speeds of more than 25mph (40km per hour) on rough terrain.
The greatest challenge for Ukraine will be logistics - maintaining the flow of fuel, ammunition and spare parts.
Ukraine is not just having to maintain its old Soviet-era arsenal, it is also having to worry about an increasingly complex inventory of Western supplied weapons.
Ukraine is not just having to maintain its old Soviet-era arsenal, it is also having to worry about an increasingly complex inventory of Western supplied weapons.
Amid the news of the Western pledges of heavy tanks, Russia bombarded Ukraine with missiles, exploding drones and artillery shells this week.
Donetsk province, where the territory is roughly split between Russian and Ukrainian control, has become the battle epicenter of the war.
The fighting has largely been deadlocked over the past months, with winter conditions slowing down ground operations and neither side reporting significant progress.
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