Thousands of miles from the front lines, a sprawling manufacturing plant in the small Midwestern town of Lima, Ohio, is playing a pivotal role in the effort to arm Ukraine as it fends off Russian invasion.
Owned by the Army and operated by General Dynamics, the plant is expected to overhaul Abrams tanks for the United States to ship to Ukraine, and is already preparing to build an updated version of the vehicle for Poland, U.S. Army officials said on Wednesday. Thursday as they toured the facility.
Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, who toured the plant with other senior army leaders and officers, said the plant is likely to provide the tanks for Ukraine.
“We are still looking at options for exactly which tank variant will be provided to the Ukrainians. I think there is still a bit to work out, but certainly the tanks being built here in Lima are critical,” he said.
An Associated Press reporter was allowed to accompany Wormuth on the tour, the first journalist to tour the production lines since the United States promised Abrams tanks to Ukraine.
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US officials have declined to provide details about the Abrams eventually going to Ukraine, saying they have to decide whether to send older restored Army tanks, Navy tanks or some other version. But in most cases, the tanks would need upgrades at the Lima plant before being shipped to the Ukrainian battlefront.
“Part of this is figuring out, among the different options, which is the best one that can allow us to get the Ukrainian tanks in the most timely manner possible,” without disrupting foreign military sales, Wormuth said.
Authorities said Thursday that production totals at the plant, which is formally called the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center-Lima, vary based on contract demands. And while the plant is currently building 15-20 armored vehicles a month, including tanks, it can easily increase that number to 33 a month and could add another shift of workers and build even more if necessary.
Wormuth said the timetable for sending Abrams to Ukraine depends on whether the United States takes tanks from existing US military training stocks or from Army units, which would be less desirable because it could affect their readiness to fight. And tank development for Ukraine would also have to fit in with current foreign sales contracts, which include 250 of the newer versions for Poland and around 75 for Australia.
Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth looks at an M1A2 Abrams main battle tank as she tours the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center February 16, 2023 in Lima, Ohio. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
In a dramatic reversal, the Biden administration announced in January that it will send 31 M1A2 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, after insisting for months that the 70-ton battle powerplants were too complicated and difficult to maintain and repair. The decision was part of a broader political move that opened the door for Germany to announce that it would send its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and allow Poland and other allies to do the same.
Ukrainian leaders have pushed for the Abrams, which was first deployed in the war in 1991 and has thick armor, a 120mm main gun, armor-piercing capabilities and advanced targeting systems. It runs on thick tracked wheels and has a 1,500 horsepower turbine engine with a top speed of approximately 42 miles per hour.
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Walking through the production lanes in the 25-acre building, Wormuth got to see the newest version of the Abrams as it transformed from an empty steel hull to a shiny, freshly painted tank, a process that takes 18 to 24 months. The United States does not build new tanks from scratch. He has a fleet of around 2,500 Abrams, and he takes older tanks, knocks them down, and uses the empty hull as a starting point to build a new one. Some hulls have been renovated several times.
Across the hall, from an empty hull, sparks flew as a worker welded together the tank parts. In another section, a worker showed where they will install a new auxiliary engine in the latest version, which will run on diesel when necessary to save the large amount of fuel that the jet engines consume in the tank. And, further down the road, workers had laid the two rows of tracks that the Abrams runs on, preparing to install them on one of the tank bodies. The tracks stretch more than 60 feet (18 meters) and weigh two tons on each side.
Approximately 800 people work at the plant, which is spread over 369 acres in northwestern Ohio. Its 1.6 million square feet of manufacturing space is the only place where the M1A2 Abrams is manufactured. About 45% of the workers are concentrated in the tank, but the plant also produces Stryker armored vehicles, tank support vehicles and some other equipment.
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As Wormuth ended his visit with a look at some of the finished tanks in another building, a long line of the newer Abrams sat outside on the nearby train tracks. And as he prepared to leave, the train cars began to move, taking the tanks to Fort Hood, Texas, where they will get their radios and other equipment before heading to their final destination with an Army unit.
Speaking to reporters afterwards, Wormuth said the Army will invest about $558 million in improvements to the plant over the next 15 years. Some of them include the expanded use of robotics.
“I think that as the war in Ukraine has shown everyone here, there is a real need to level up our defense industrial base,” he said. “The plant here in Lima is part of that.”
