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As Pentagon Awards $90 Million Research Contract To Howard University, America Escalates Ukraine War By Sending Tanks

As Pentagon Awards $90 Million Research Contract To Howard University, America Escalates Ukraine War By Sending Tanks

Howard

(L) Howard University in Washington, Aug. 31, 2011. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)/(top, R) US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Ramstein, Germany, Jan. 20, 2023. AP Photo/(bottom, R) Michael Probst)French Leclerc main battle tanks in Smardan, eastern Romania, Jan. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Historically Black University Howard University has been awarded a five-year $90 million U.S. military research contract. It is the first HBCU to lead one of the Pentagon’s 15 university-affiliated research centers. 

This news comes as the U.S. military has announced that it will send war tanks to Ukraine to assist the country in its conflict with Russia.

The new Howard center is being funded by the Defense Department and the Air Force and will focus on tactical autonomy technology for military systems, The Washington Post reported. Researchers will begin work on Feb. 1 at Howard.

Currently, the Pentagon has 14 existing university-affiliated research centers, where defense, industry, and academic officials share space and collaborate on basic and applied research. There are centers at the University of Maryland at College Park and Johns Hopkins University as well.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is finalizing plans to send approximately 30 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, two U.S. officials familiar with the plans told CNN. The U.S. will also send a small number of recovery vehicles, which are tracked vehicles used to assist in the repair of tanks on the battlefield or the removal from the battlefield for service and maintenance in a different location.

The U.S. has already poured billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine. Just before Christmas, Congress approved nearly $50 billion in additional aid for Ukraine. The U.S. has poured billions into Ukraine since Russia invaded the country on Feb. 24.

After some debate, the German government has also approved delivery of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz decided to deliver the battle tanks following “months of debate,” according to CNN.

Just earlier this month, Germany had informed the U.S. that it would not send its Leopard tanks unless the U.S. also agreed to send its own M1 Abrams tanks.

Each Leopard 2 tank contains a 120mm Smoothbore gun, and a 7.62mm machine gun; it can reach speeds of 70 km per hour (44 mph), or 50 kmph when off-road, CNN reported. 

(L) Howard University in Washington, Aug. 31, 2011. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)/(top, R) US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin attends a press conference as part of the meeting of the ‘Ukraine Defense Contact Group’ at Ramstein Air Base in Ramstein, Germany, Jan. 20, 2023. Defense leaders are gathering at Ramstein Air Base in Germany to hammer out future military aid to Ukraine, amid ongoing dissent over who will provide the battle tanks that Ukrainian leaders say they desperately need. (AP Photo/(bottom, R) Michael Probst)French Leclerc main battle tanks fire during an exercise at a training range in Smardan, eastern Romania, Jan. 25, 2023. Around 600 French soldiers deployed to Romania as part of a NATO battlegroup on the alliance’s eastern flank carried out live combat exercises on Wednesday to test their preparedness amid Russia’s ongoing war in neighboring Ukraine. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)