Instead of protective cages or electronic defense, Russia’s largest tank manufacturer is now apparently relying on inexpensive rubber mats. These are intended to protect the vehicles’ weak points.
Moscow – The massive use of so-called first-person view drones by Russian and Ukrainian troops has radically changed the nature of modern warfare. The small aircraft have proven effective even against tanks costing millions of euros. Now Moscow is apparently trying to protect Vladimir Putin’s tanks against Ukrainian kamikaze drones in the Ukraine war using a very simple tool: rubber mats. Military experts, however, have doubts about the effectiveness of this method of protection.
Putin’s tanks in the Ukraine war: Manufacturer delivers new T-90 with rubber mats as anti-drone protection
Drone attacks are now said to be responsible for two-thirds of Russian tank losses in the Ukraine war, according to the Ukrainian newspaper Kyiv-Post on Sunday (8 September) reported. Since the beginning of the war, Ukraine has, according to the geolocated information of the database Oryx More than 9,000 tanks or armored combat vehicles have already been destroyed, hijacked or damaged during Russia’s war of aggression. Both Ukraine and Russia are continuing to develop their drone technology, as well as protection in drone warfare against enemy attacks with unmanned aerial vehicles.
Now the Russian Defense Ministry’s television channel reported, TVZvezdaabout a new delivery of T-90 tanks. According to Kyiv-Post fell into the shared Recordings that the vehicles were equipped with reinforced rubber mats as possible protection in the escalating drone war. The largest tank manufacturer in Russia, the company Uralwagonsawod, positioned the mats over the gap between the turret and the hull of the tank and over the rear engine slots, it said. The specialist portal Defense Mirror reported on the X platform about Russia’s new anti-drone protection.
Some Russian tank models store the explosives in the turret, which is why an attack often leads to the so-called “Jack in the Box effect – an explosion and the turret flying away. The crew in the tank have little chance of survival if hit like this. The Russian models T-64, T-72, T-80 and T-90 are affected by the “jack-in-the-box effect”, as described by the experts of the German German Armed Forces in a Contribution on the topic.
Defense for Russia’s tanks in drone war: Previous designs caused concern
According to experts, the turret ring is one of the most sensitive parts of the tank construction. Russia tried to eliminate this weak point during the Ukraine war. According to Defense Mirror Cages were initially used to protect the tank turrets, especially against drone attacks. Tanks were then also seen that were completely surrounded by such a protective cage.
However, according to military experts, this design had a negative impact on the visibility and handling of the vehicle as a weapon. “During use, metal structures are deformed, break and lose their properties,” quoted TVZvezda a representative of the manufacturer Uralwagonsawod. Due to the deformation, the cages lost their protective effect, which is why increasingly harder material was used – “turtle shells” were mentioned.
Protection for tanks in drone warfare: Mats could create a false sense of security
Moscow also relied on electronic warfare, such as anti-drone systems such as Volnorez and Arena-M for its T-90 tanksas the US war experts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported. But Ukraine also continued to arm itself and improved its drone attacks, among other things with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). The rubber mats that have now been spotted are probably an attempt to fend off Kiev’s attacks in the drone war as cheaply as possible. Military experts are skeptical about the actual protective effect of these constructions. The mats may only strengthen the self-confidence and morale of the tank crews without increasing their chances of survival, speculates Kyiv-Post.
And there could be another problem: As the ISW war experts said last Friday, referring to report on Russian sourcesrubber is apparently in short supply in Russia. The Russian defense industry is already unable to produce enough rubber to replace worn tires for military equipment, for example, it was said. According to the manufacturer Uralwagonsawod, however, the new tanks are also equipped with electronic drone defense capabilities and the radio-absorbing stealth technology “Cape”. The vehicle also received a fundamentally new turret that differs from the series turret, according to the Russian state news agency Cup reported on Saturday.
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