Strange Russian tanks reappeared, breaking through positions in Krasnohorivka

(Dan Tri) – The popularity of the `turtle` tank on social networking platforms has turned it into a target for the Ukrainian Army.

Image of a Russian tank with a strange protection layer (Photo: Telegram).

It is not difficult to realize from the reality of the Ukrainian battlefield that suicide UAVs are the most dangerous opponents to the Russian Army’s armored vehicles, including the most advanced tanks.

Recently, a Russian Army T-72 was even equipped with a special protective layer that covered almost the entire turret and upper body, it was called a `turtle` tank.

Even though it has to sacrifice the observation and maneuverability of the turret, it helps the vehicle have higher survivability against suicide UAVs, especially FPV.

Yesterday, April 16, it once again appeared in an attack by a Russian mechanized group in the city of Krasnohorivka near the capital Donetsk.

Faced with heavy firepower from Ukraine, this strange vehicle pioneered a group of Russian troops to attack deeply into areas controlled by the enemy and then return safely.

Obviously, no matter how bizarre technical solutions are, if they prove to be effective in practice, they will naturally be applied.

Russian `turtle` tanks break through to Krasnogorovka (Source: Telegram).

Long tradition

In Ukraine, it once again proves that, compared to the US and the West, the ability to be flexible and creative in changing equipment configurations to suit the combat environment of Russia and the former Soviet Union always achieves high efficiency.

This tradition in the past was clearly demonstrated during World War 2 with the legendary tank model T-34.

World War II also created an interesting tradition of factory design engineers being directly present on the front lines.

They not only participate in the process of repairing vehicles but also upgrading and improving them in the field, helping to achieve the highest efficiency.

Another notable technical solution to improve the survivability of Soviet (later Russian) armored vehicles is the explosive reactive armor (ERA) system.

Although Israel was the first country to apply this technology, the Soviet Union turned it into a simpler, cheaper, but more effective way than Western boxed armor to deal with the age of missiles.

Although the above examples are just small slices, they are very specific examples of how Russians think about weapon development.

Russian tanks install `chicken coops` to protect the turret from Ukrainian fire (Photo: Russian Ministry of Defense).

From the `chicken coop` to modifying weapons to suit the environment

In the early stages of the conflict, Kiev forces were aided by many roof-top anti-tank missiles and suicide UAVs, causing heavy losses to Moscow’s mechanized forces.

Ignoring the criticism of Western military experts about this somewhat patchy solution, reality has proven that it is completely reasonable both in terms of technique and protection effectiveness.

As can be imagined, in field conditions, applying complex technological equipment is very difficult.

The use of `mesh armor` to protect military vehicles was common in the past.

Topwar assessed that the main difference between suicide UAVs and anti-tank guided missiles or RPG bullets is low speed.

The reality of resistance has proven that the Russian solution is very effective.

In fact, suicide UAVs and their use tactics are creating completely new tactics on the modern battlefield.

This fact has been proven with the `turtle` tank applied on a Russian Army tank with a protective armor structure covering the entire upper hemisphere of the vehicle.

However, the popularity of `turtle tank` on social media platforms has made it a target of the Ukrainian Army.