Ukrainian Separatists have more armor than German, the UK, & France combined...Europe must rebuild its armored force!

via Real Clear Defense.

Just a few years ago, Western military leaders were all but certain that the era of the tank was over. As a result, they unwisely did away with the world’s foremost armored fighting force. Germany, the nation that more than any other perfected the role of tanks and armored formations in warfare, reduced its fleet of Leopard 2 tanks from some 2,100 to 225. The British Army, which ended the Cold War with 800 advanced tanks, currently deploys just 156 in a single regiment. France has 406 tanks but only 240 in front-line units. In comparison, the Ukrainian separatists in Luhansk and Donetsk are reported to be operating more than 700 tanks, a larger fleet than that of Britain, Germany and France combined.

Moreover, reductions in combat support capabilities, logistics and manpower means that this “corporal’s guard” of NATO armored fighting units are actually less capable and deployable than the raw numbers would indicate. A recent RAND study concluded that it would take a month or more for the U.K., Germany and France to generate a combat-ready armored brigade 

Story here. 

Now we know why the US Army is pushing more armor into Europe.  Once again the United States is subsidizing underfunded EU defense requirements with American Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen...and alot of our gear.