The US and its Western allies must very secretly transport weapons and military equipment to support Ukraine, because this is a complex and risky operation because of the risk of detection by Russia.
According to The Conversation, since November 2021, the US has provided 3 shipments of military aid to Ukraine, taking goods from stockpiles at bases across Europe and delivering them to Kiev.
The United States has supplied Ukraine with a variety of weapons, from rifles and armor to Stinger missiles capable of shooting down helicopters or fighters, as well as Javelin anti-tank missiles.
But since Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine, this job of transporting military goods is no longer easy because conflicts occur everywhere.
How do weapons from US depots at its military bases in Europe reach Ukrainian soldiers? What steps are involved in the logistics of transporting military equipment from Europe to the operational area?
The Conversation quotes experts as saying that the civilian and military supply chains are the same. In the current war situation, speed of delivery is important to Ukraine.
According to the sources, weapons and equipment entering Ukraine are moved quickly in case Russian intelligence identifies or predicts potential routes. If confidentiality and security are not guaranteed, the risk of detection and transportation disruption is very high.
The military hardware that Ukraine needs is now in stock at US bases across Europe. After the goods are removed from the warehouse, they will be transported by air, truck or rail on the "first leg" to somewhere in the territory of a NATO country bordering western or southwestern Ukraine, including Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.
Shipping activities in this first leg must be secret to avoid the risk of being discovered by the Russian side and predicting the destination.
In military jargon, this first destination is called a "storage area" (the area where troops gather to prepare a new job). To ensure the security of the arsenal, the storage area is likely to be an weapons depot or a facility located in a NATO base before being transported into Ukraine. And even more important, the leaders of the United States, NATO and Ukraine need to decide whether to use only one or more storage areas.
If using only one storage area, it is not too difficult because it is easy to plan and implement. However, that can pose many risks as Russia is easy to detect and easy to attack. Meanwhile, if multiple storage areas are used, planning and execution will be more complicated.
After deciding on the storage area, the support party needs to make a plan to coordinate the transfer of weapons and equipment to the Ukrainian army. That's when Ukraine will take on the responsibility of transporting equipment from the territory of a NATO country to the next areas in their country. And in this leg is the need for more absolute security.
In the current situation of hostilities, Ukraine cannot transport supplies by air and as a result has to use land convoys to travel from the western border to the next point in the supply chain.
Kiev is also unable to deploy large-scale convoys to transport goods because of the risk of being detected by Russian attack helicopters or warplanes. Instead, weapons and equipment are broken up into smaller shipments and transported in batches.
Since it is not possible to use weapons and weapons such as helicopters to protect the convoys due to Russia's air superiority, Ukraine must ensure the safety of the convoys by placing more surface-to-air missiles. unlike the Stinger that the US is offering along the routes passing.
Ukraine has also arranged units that can clear the way for the convoy when it encounters any obstacles such as burning military vehicles or destroyed tanks.
And in the last leg, usually the final gathering areas are in the big cities. The "last leg" in the combat zone is much more dangerous because of the ongoing war situation.
Therefore, logistics units traveling the last distance also need to be strictly protected. When the convoy arrived, the shipments were broken up for easy distribution to the forces fighting on the battlefield.
See more:
Comments
Post a Comment