Sustaining Ukraine’s Military Capabilities
Source: Facebook
War is the mother of innovation
Key Takeaways
EUCOM Control Center-Ukraine/ International Donor Coordination Centre was set up by the United States and the United Kingdom to manage the logistics involved in delivering an unprecedented amount of military aid.
A few of the weapons provided such as the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, M777 155mm Howitzers, and High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems require periodic field-level and sustainment-level maintenance and repair.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces, however, have not been trained in the necessary maintainer skills for these systems, and using contractors for a forward presence, as the United States has done in past conflicts, increases the likelihood of conflict escalation.
To solve this logistical puzzle, the U.S. army developed an innovative, ad hoc wartime telemaintenance network at a military base in Poland. The network uses chat rooms dedicated to specific weapon systems, encrypted communications, and computer-assisted design to guide the Ukrainian Armed Forces through necessary repairs on the front lines.
U.S. European Command (EUCOM) has established a facility in Poland where crews can replace the barrels and make other necessary repairs to M777 Howitzers and other systems when field-level repairs are not possible.
Military Aid to Ukraine
Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine last year has resulted in the extensive destruction of civilian infrastructure and overwhelming human suffering. Putin’s strategy for a quick victory, however, has vaporized. Despite fears that the Russian army would take Kyiv in 3 days, the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) have not only held out much longer than many believed possible, but they have also mounted a counteroffensive and have forced the invaders to retreat from some of their early gains.
The Ukrainian resistance and counteroffensive have been, in large part, enabled by an unprecedented amount of military aid provided by the United States, which some have estimated to be as much as $40 billion. Other nations from around the world have also provided billions of dollars worth of military assistance. To coordinate this assistance the U.S. and U.K. established a logistics cell, known as the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) Control Center-Ukraine/International Donor Coordination Centre, which is manned by American service members and a rotating crew of multinational partners.
NASAMS
Many of the weapons provided, such as the Stinger, a man-portable air defense system, and the Javelin, a man-portable anti-tank guided missile, are expendable munitions. However, some very capable, complex systems that require maintenance and repair have been provided to the UAF. These include the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), M777 155mm Howitzers, and High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS).
NASAMS is a ground-based air defense system developed by a Norwegian firm; it is in use in many countries and has been deployed to defend Washington D.C. since 2005. NASAMS will provide Ukraine with short- to medium-range protection against Russian drones, missiles, and some aircraft.
M777 Howitzer
The systems that have been key in reversing Russia’s gains are the long-range artillery systems provided by the United States. The M777 howitzer uses a digital fire control system that provides an accuracy of 10 meters, at ranges up to 25 miles, when using the GPS-guided Excalibur munition. Perhaps, the weapon having the greatest impact on the battlefield is the HIMARS, an agile mobile launcher that can fire 6 precision-guided rockets, at ranges of over 40 miles. It is a battle-tested system and was used by the U.S. military in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan.
HIMARS has enabled the UAF to strike at distances greater than Russia’s artillery is capable of. The Ukrainians are now able to target behind the Russian lines and destroy command and control centers, munition depots, and other supply facilities. HIMARS has proved to be extraordinarily effective and is critical to the UAF’s offensive efforts; it proved key when retaking Kherson, the first major city and the only regional capital captured by the Russians.
The Puzzle
It is unclear how long this conflict will last; some western analysts have estimated it may be years. As a result, after months of near-constant use, the UAF’s battle-worn systems are in frequent need of maintenance and repair. With these types of systems, the U.S. Army uses a two-level maintenance strategy. Field-level maintenance is performed by crews/operators and maintainers on their equipment on or near where the system is being used. For more extensive repairs there is sustainment-level maintenance, where systems or components are repaired off of the system, in dedicated maintenance facilities. With the speed with which these systems were provided to Ukraine, it was not possible to train Ukrainian maintainers to make the repairs at the field-level, much less at the sustainment-level. It became evident that in addition to the spare parts being provided, Kyiv would need expert assistance to repair equipment near the front lines.
In the past, the Department of Defense has used contractors to bridge gaps in skills and experience to maintain its deployed systems; contractors provided thousands of personnel for training and maintenance in both Iraq and Afghanistan. For example, to help maintain its HIMARS at a high state of readiness in Iraq, Lockheed Martin had a team of field service representatives deployed with operational units to expedite troubleshooting and repairs. Some have suggested that contractor support could be used to help sustain U.S. weapons in Ukraine since this would not violate the administration’s direction that the U.S. will not deploy any service members to Ukraine and also avoid a red line that Putin has established. This would, however, risk having U.S. contractors near the front lines. This greater level of U.S. involvement could lead to contractors being injured or captured and potentially escalate the conflict.
HIMARS
To bridge the gap in maintainer skill levels, without a forward presence, the U.S. Army developed an innovative, ad hoc wartime telemaintenance network at a military base in Poland. There, 40 troops along with Ukrainian linguists have established 14 chat rooms; each room is dedicated to a specific U.S. weapon system. This virtual assistance helps the UAF keep weapons, operated well beyond their design limits, working. Using encrypted chats and IPAD images, the American troops help to virtually diagnose problems, and when the spare parts are delivered they guide the Ukrainians through the repairs. Chats supporting the HIMARS and howitzers are considered priorities and are handled in minutes, and spare parts are delivered within days. In some urgent cases, when parts are not available, greater ingenuity is required. Using computer-assisted design, the Ukrainians draw up designs for substitute parts, have them reviewed by U.S. specialists, and then produce the parts locally for a temporary repair. The chat network has enabled the UAF to keep all of its 16 tide-changing HIMARS systems operational.
Some repairs cannot be handled in the field, however. Many of the M777 howitzers have been fired so much that their barrels have worn out. Replacing a howitzer's barrel, which can be 20 feet long and weigh thousands of pounds, cannot be done by soldiers in the field. For this type of repair, the EUCOM has established a facility in Poland where crews can replace the barrels and make other necessary repairs so the howitzers can quickly return to the field.
Concluding Remarks
The Administration's position is that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a direct threat to European security and presents a significant challenge to NATO allies. The U.S. has responded accordingly; the level of military assistance to Ukraine has been massive. This influx of weapons has been critical to Ukraine’s effective defense and counteroffensive, increasing Ukraine’s alignment with the West and accelerating its shift to greater compatibility and interoperability with NATO. But sustaining these systems has proven to be challenging and has required creative and innovative approaches to enable the UAF to repair and continue to operate them without a forward U.S. presence. Without this support, the UAF’s performance would certainly have been degraded. If the U.S. continues to provide weapons and the support to keep them operational, General Petraeus, the former CIA Director, believes that Ukraine will eventually win on the battlefield and retake the territory that Russia has seized. The U.S. has, to date, shown a willingness to continue to provide the required assistance.
