Remember when the United States sent a weird weapon to Ukraine?

Long before the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russia ended in failure, the United States sent the embattled nation a weird weapon many thought would prove vital in Kyiv's mission to break through the advanced defense lines Russia set up in southern and eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine forces were given at least one American M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle to add to their growing arsenal of Western weapons according to images from an award ceremony that saw the vehicle demonstrated for Volodymyr Zelensky. 

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Photo Credit: Office of the President of Ukraine

On November 3rd, Zelensky was with soldiers during the country’s Military and Engineer Forces Day and he got a firsthand look at the new M1150, as well as what it could do for the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the battlefield. 

Photo Credit: Office of the President of Ukraine

The M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle is a fairly new invention of the United States and it was adopted for use in 2009 according to the Ukrainian military media outlet Militayni. However, it was never officially transferred to Ukraine. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Spc. Tyler Kingsbury

“How it arrived in Ukraine is not clear,” wrote The Warzone’s Howard Altman and Thomas Newdick at the time. “There are no M1150s specifically noted on the list of items the Pentagon has provided Ukraine.”

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons: By Gregory Stevens, Public Domain

“It likely falls into the nebulous category of ‘mine clearing equipment’ contained among the nearly $45 billion in security assistance provided to Ukraine by the Biden Administration,” Altman and Newdick added. 

The M1150 is a mine-and-explosive clearing vehicle that is built on the chassis of an Abrams M1 tank. Such a weapon will undoubtedly soon be at the front if Ukraine chooses to try and break through Russian defensive lines since was designed to breach through heavy mine defenses. 

Relatively little is known about the mine-clearing vehicle but Defense Express reported that as few as 149 units were made for American forces fighting in Afghanistan based on numbers and data from Military Balance. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Official Marine Corps Photo by Lance Cpl. Brian M. Woodruff

Rough estimates of the M1150 put the total number of vehicles built at 239 according to Militaryni, though whatever the true number, it is clear the American military never made a lot of the specialized mine-clearing weapon. 

Photo Credit: Office of the President of Ukraine

Weighing an impressive 72 tons, the M1150 can generate 1500 horsepower and has an M2 Browning machine gun mounted on its turret for self-defense. However, the speed of the vehicle makes it particularly useful for Ukraine. 

Photo Credit: Office of the President of Ukraine

The U.S. The Army described the M1150 as a “highly mobile and heavily armored minefield and complex obstacle breaching system.” Beyond its M1A1 hull, the vehicle is equipped with a “unique turret” and full-width mine plow. 

The M1150 only requires a crew of two soldiers to man the vehicle and it has the speed and ability to keep up with maneuver forces, which means the mine-clearing tank might someday be seen breaching Russian defenses. 

Photo Credit: Office of the President of Ukraine

Understanding the magnitude of transferring such a weapon to Ukraine is difficult unless you have an extensive military background but the M1150 can clear and create lanes of passage through a dense minefield during an attack. 

Two systems are employed to do this according to the U.S. Army. First, the M1150 uses its Mine Clearing Line Charges system across an enemy minefield to create a safe path, and then its mine plow to create a lane that can be traversed by attackers. 

Photo Credit: Twitter @mil_machine

Not many M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicles were created by the United States and as few as 30 to 50 comprise the U.S. Army’s stocks according to Defense Express, which is why the outlet deemed the transfer of the vehicles to Ukraine to be a “serious step.”

Photo Credit: Office of the President of Ukraine

Defense Express also noted that the appearance of the M1150 means the United States was carefully considering the needs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces by providing a combat system like the M1150 to Kyiv. 

Photo Credit: Office of the President of Ukraine