It was in mid-April that they began to appear, the so-called “turtle tanks”. Since then, they have become an increasingly common sight. Although the visibility in the vehicle is limited and the mobility of the cannon is hindered. It’s about getting better protection against drones.
– The reason we are seeing this development is that the major threat no longer comes from artillery or cruise robots, but from small drones, says David Hambling, British journalist and author, specializing in drone warfare.
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Drones everywhere
The amount of drones on the battlefield is increasing more and more. Especially Ukraine has greatly increased the production of these small, fast racing drones, so-called FPV drones.
– Ukraine states that they manufacture over 100,000 FPV drones per month and on Russian social media there are reports about how Russian units are subjected to a large number of drone attacks every day. These drones are everywhere, notes David Hambling.
Only Russia
So far, only Russia uses this type of shell to protect its tanks. According to David Hambling, however, it has been possible to see how the Ukrainians reinforced their tanks with extra panels, even on modern tanks that they received from countries in the West.
– This indicates that they also do not think they have a sufficiently good protection against drones. Everyone is looking for an answer to this new threat.