Ukrainian drones decimate advanced Russian T‑90M tanks
Ukrainians continue to destroy Russian armored equipment, increasingly targeting the rare T-90M tanks. These are Russia's premier machines, yet even with modifications, they have little chance against a swarm of Ukrainian drones.
The video below shows how Ukrainian drone operators from the 24th Mechanized Brigade successfully eliminated T-90M, T-72, T-80 tanks, and a BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicle near Chasiv Yar. According to a list maintained by the analyst group oryxspioenkop, Russia, based only on photos and recordings, has already lost at least 122 T-90M tanks.
Tanks from the T-72/90 family are usually a deadly trap
The T-90M tank appeared to be a wartime production model with an added armor plate over the turret and a drone jammer. However, it seems that Ukrainians operated outside its operating frequency or used drones controlled via fiber optic cables or with an artificial intelligence module.
The crew, along with two soldiers riding on the armor, was surprised and can be seen jumping off the tank while the driver closes his hatch. The FPV drone hit was not critical but caused the Russian crew to flee. This is evidenced by open hatches on the turret in the recordings from subsequent drone attacks, which finished off the abandoned machine.
The Russians from this unit were luckier than many other tank crew members because a successful hit on a tank from the T-72 or T-90 family usually results in a spectacular ammunition cache explosion, with the turret's characteristic launch several dozen feet into the air.
The T-90M tank: Final evolution of a flawed machine
The T-90M tanks, introduced into service in 2021, are an evolution of the T-90A machines, essentially a rebranding of the deeply modernized T-72B family machines. The Russians created this series to avoid comparisons to the extensively destroyed T-72 family machines during the First Gulf War.
In the years preceding the full-scale war in Ukraine, the T-90M tank was a highlight at Russian arms fairs, where Vladimir Putin often praised it as the best tank in the world.
The key features of the T-90M include a modern fire control system with thermal imaging (initially French, now from alternative sources) and dual-layer reactive armor, Relikt, which offers protection against tandem warhead-shaped charges and reduces the effectiveness of kinetic penetrators fired by other tanks. However, the armor blocks are applied over the basic armor from the T-72B, leaving gaps in protection that Ukrainian drone operators easily exploit.
Like other tanks in the T-72 series, the T-90M has an autoloader with an ammunition stash in the hull, which is not isolated from the crew. As a result, any penetration of the armor has a high chance of causing the explosion of 22 rounds and propellant charges, often resulting in the dramatic detachment of the turret. The Russians are attempting to reinforce the tanks in various ways, with varied success.
