Russian tanks fitted with turtle shell armor can freely enter and exit the Ukrainian defense lines because Kiev lacks artillery and missiles and must rely on suicide drones.
Ukrainian soldiers controlling unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) in early April were surprised to discover Russian tanks fitted with unusual armor, resembling turtle shells, appearing on the front line west of the city of Donetsk. . This tank appears to be a T-72 model with a front mine plow.
Tanks fitted with turtle shell armor later appeared commonly on the battlefield, when many Russian units adopted this type of homemade armor with a funny shape, but they were effective in practice.
A similar tank once led a Russian unit approaching the Ukrainian position in the city of Krasnogorovka, west of the capital Donetsk of the province of the same name. The tank confidently advanced straight into the Ukrainian defense line, then withdrew to the rear line without suffering any damage.
Russian soldiers even installed an electronic warfare system cluster on top of the turtle shell armor. This helps the electronic warfare system stay in a higher position, reducing the risk of signals being obstructed and increasing the effectiveness of jamming enemy drones.
The reason why Russian turtle shell tanks roam the battlefield
Russian tank fitted with turtle shell armor in the front line area in a video released on April 25. Video: X/Bayraktar 1love
Most of the turtle shell tanks belong to the Russian 5th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, a unit whose core is the Donbass militia. The 5th Brigade is famous for being a unit that specializes in making use of all types of weapons they are allocated, borrowed from friendly units or confiscated from Ukraine.
However, Russian units with better equipment such as the 90th Guards Tank Division also began to install turtle shell armor on their combat vehicles. The 90th Division is active in the area around Avdeevka and may be ready to attack in the direction of Ocheretino, where Russia is pushing back Ukrainian units.
Some Western experts admit that the popularity of turtle shell tanks may be because they are solving many problems for Russian forces.
“Many people are laughing at turtle shell tanks, but this is not a crazy product,” said expert Rob Lee of the US-based Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI). “Russia is adapting to specific conditions on the battlefield.”
The battlefield conditions that make Russian turtle-shell tanks appear commonly are Ukraine’s exhaustion of artillery shells and anti-tank missiles. This forces Ukraine to rely more and more on suicide drones to attack enemy combat vehicles.
Russian tank with turtle shell armor and anti-drone chains slides into the front and rear gaps. Image: X/Bayraktar 1love
Ukraine solved the problem of lack of artillery shells and anti-tank missiles by opening a series of low-cost drone factories with a capacity of up to 100,000 units per month. Each drone can attack targets several kilometers away, carrying a warhead weighing about 0.5 kg.
Small-sized drones can approach and rush into the most vulnerable positions on the tank, such as the rear part of the turret and engine compartment to disable and destroy the vehicle. However, the drone cannot overcome the rudimentary “turtle shell” armor covering the tank.
This “turtle shell” armor will not be able to protect the tank if attacked by artillery shells or guided missiles. But because Ukraine is running out of this type of weapon, Russian tanks only need to deal with the threat from drones.
Russian units have recently used the tactic of sending turtle-shell tanks mounted with mine plows, possibly equipped with jamming complexes, to go ahead and open the way for the convoy of infantry vehicles behind to approach the Ukrainian lines.
“Sacrificing the ability to observe and rotate the turret on one tank of each platoon to jam the control signals of multiple drones at the same time is reasonable,” expert Lee assessed. “The first priority is to move assault infantry units across open ground to enemy buildings or defensive positions.”
Russian tanks fitted with turtle shell armor were left on the battlefield. Image: X/Bayraktar 1love
With the above mission and Ukraine’s current ammunition shortage, Russian turtle shell tanks still do a good job of paving the way for the attacking unit. However, the situation may change when Ukraine receives new weapons from the US.
Suicide drones will not disappear on the battlefield, but will no longer be the main weapon after Ukraine received a series of artillery shells and anti-tank missiles from the US. Russian turtle-shell tanks with poor mobility can quickly disappear before Ukrainian artillery fire, anti-tank missiles and drones.
Nguyen Tien (According to Forbes, AFP, Reuters)
