Ukrainian tanks push back: Facing drone threats head-on

The video below shows how a tank fires at a building on the left, presumably occupied by Russians, before being hit by a Lancet-3 drone, which appears to have detonated prematurely. Unfortunately, the recording quality is insufficient for clear visibility, but in recent months, folding anti-drone nets have become popular on Ukrainian tanks.

These nets serve as a rather effective barrier against single-warhead drones or even tandem ones, especially if the tank’s turret has reactive armor blocks. After the hit, which wasn't harmful, the tank quickly decided to retreat. It's also worth noting that it isn't a T-64BW but some variant of the T-72, as indicated by the exhaust being located on the side rather than the rear.

Introduced into service in 1973, the T-72 tanks were a simplified version of the revolutionary T-64 tank. Fifty years ago, they were more advanced than anything the West had, but much has changed since then, and even its deepest modernizations in the form of the T-90M variant are nowhere near the latest M1A2 Abrams or Leopard 2 tanks.

A characteristic feature of the T-72 tanks is their relatively low weight of 88,000 pounds for the applied armor, low profile at 7 feet, good mobility, and an autoloader, which allowed for a reduction in crew size to three soldiers. This was one of the conclusions from the nuclear experiment.

However, as the war in Ukraine has shown, the autoloader, although very helpful, can be deadly due to a design flaw. This is the case with the whole family of post-Soviet tanks, where the autoloader housing 22 shells and propellant charges is located in the hull and not isolated from the crew. Any damage to it guarantees a spectacular explosion and the death of the entire crew. For this reason, crews have begun creating various types of protections or installing jammers, although these do not always work.

Lancet-3 drones, which debuted in 2020 during fighting in Syria, are long-range constructions capable of staying in the air for 40 minutes and covering 25 miles. Initially, they were equipped with a 7-pound engineering-shaped explosive charge KZ-6, capable of penetrating 8.5 inches of steel armor. Still, new versions are said to have a larger 11-pound warhead with significantly greater destructive power.

The main problem for Ukrainians is that these drones are quite difficult to jam, unlike FPV drones. The crew of the targeted T-72 was quite fortunate. Russian drones are reportedly also capable of attacking autonomously in the final phase. Still, their accuracy is said to be lacking, and there is no talk of hitting a specific piece of armor.