200 M113 Armored Personnel Carriers are Headed to Ukraine: As part of the latest $800 million military aid package announced on Wednesday, the United States will send a range of weapons and other military hardware to Ukraine in the coming days and weeks.
Among the military hardware that will be transported to NATO’s eastern borders, before being transported into Ukraine, are 200 M113 armored personnel carriers.
Long used by the United States military, the vehicles are gradually being replaced by a newer armored multi-purpose vehicle (AMPV) built by BAE Systems – meaning the latest delivery from the United States could consist of older armored personnel carriers that were set to be retired from use.
The United States ordered 450 AMPVs in 2018.
What Is the M113?
An armored personnel carrier is an armored vehicle designed to transport troops and supplies safely in a warzone. This particular vehicle was designed to carry one commander/gunner, a driver, and 11 soldiers. Developed by Food Machinery Corp, the M113 vehicle was based on earlier M75 and M59 personnel carriers that were developed during the 1950s.
The first prototype of the M113 was made in 1957, making it an old design. It was officially adopted by the United States military in 1960 and, since then, has been manufactured by BAE and upgraded several times since.
Over 80,000 of the vehicles have been produced in various formats over the years and they are used in over 44 countries. The majority of the United States’ M113 vehicles were upgraded and identified as the M113A3 variant.
The driver can operate the vehicle using several periscopes fitting to the vehicle, and it is powered by a Detroit Diesel V-6 engine.
As Russian troops focus on the contested region of Donbas and continue bombing campaigns in the south-eastern parts of the country – where the Crimean peninsula joins Donbas – these armored vehicles may assist Ukrainian efforts to relocate troops and regain ground in metropolitan areas.
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
