{"id":30661,"date":"2022-04-28T16:48:22","date_gmt":"2022-04-28T16:48:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2022\/04\/28\/ukraine-weapon-switcheroos-are-flushing-soviet-arms-out-of-europe\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:33:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:33:45","slug":"ukraine-weapon-switcheroos-are-flushing-soviet-arms-out-of-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/2022\/04\/28\/ukraine-weapon-switcheroos-are-flushing-soviet-arms-out-of-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine weapon switcheroos are flushing Soviet arms out of Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2015 As some Eastern European nations send their Soviet-era kit<\/a> to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia\u2019s attack, the new weapons those nations stand to get in return from the United States and its allies could shape the continent\u2019s arsenal for years to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tactic of backfilling donated tanks in Poland<\/a>, air defense gear in Slovakia<\/a> and armored trucks in Slovenia<\/a>, for example, is meant to beef up Ukraine\u2019s resistance while offering European Union members a way to remain out of direct conflict. The transactions, many of which go unpublicized, add a new dynamic to an already volatile military procurement pattern in Europe that clashes with the bloc\u2019s lengthy plans for collectively developed weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen it comes to new equipment, the Eastern European partners will primarily turn to the United States,\u201d said Matthias Wachter, chief defense analyst at the German industry association BDI. \u201cGermany and France have unfortunately disqualified themselves in the eyes of many eastern Europeans by way of their reluctant stance on military support for Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, Poland is in line to receive an undisclosed number of Challenger 2 tanks from the U.K. to backfill its supply of T-72 tanks<\/a> to Ukraine. That\u2019s in addition to the planned purchase of 250 Abrams tanks from the United States in a deal worth almost $5 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, Poland, once interested in joining the German-French Eurotank development effort, will now be flush with modern tanks for decades to come, Wachter noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington has worked for years to get former Warsaw Pact countries to replace their Soviet-era equipment with NATO-compatible kit. A $713 million tranche of aid announced Monday<\/a>, aimed at Ukraine and its neighbors, is meant to do just that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the new package, the U.S. stands to benefit both strategically \u2014 getting partners and allies off Russian equipment to improve interoperability and deny money for Moscow \u2014 and financially, thanks to the subsidization of American weapons abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aid does include Soviet-era ammunition, rockets and artillery for Ukraine to use for the fight now, but the Biden administration also foresees Ukraine and its neighbors using more Western equipment over the long term, according to a U.S. government summary obtained by Defense News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The summary ticked off dozens of categories of Ukrainian military needs \u2015 from night-vision devices to multiple launch rocket systems \u2015 that could be fulfilled by the U.S. or other NATO allies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The package announced Monday included, beyond Ukraine, more than $300 million divided between more than a dozen Central and Eastern European countries \u2015 for equipment, training or both. Billed as backfilling supplies of weapons that countries are sending Ukraine, the State Department-controlled Foreign Military Financing <\/a>is also meant to \u201cenhance partner military integration with NATO,\u201d the summary read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NATO aspirant Georgia<\/a>\u2019s $35 million portion would support the fielding of \u201cbrigade combat equipment sets,\u201d counter-drone technologies and the Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System<\/a>, which is a joint and coalition command-and-control fires support system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ukrainian servicemen install a machine gun on the tank during the repair works after fighting against Russian forces in Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Wednesday, April 27, 2022. (AP Photo\/Evgeniy Maloletka)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Another $23 million would go to Bosnia and Herzegovina, from the Europe Recapitalization Incentive Program<\/a>, which the U.S. State Department launched in 2018 to speed up the process of getting allied nations off Russian gear. The money would buy an additional two medium-lift helicopters in addition to four UH-1H helos delivered in 2021<\/a> through the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The package would provide:<\/p>\n\n\n\n