Russia has thousands of tanks it can’t risk. One drone shield decides whether they roll
The Arena-M shot down seven Ukrainian drones near Volodymyrivka on 7 August. The tank burned anyway.
Russia possesses thousands of tanks that are currently unable to be deployed due to a lack of protection against Ukrainian drones. The Arena-M anti-drone shield, which has shown promise in limited tests, is being fitted to these tanks to provide an active defense. The system is designed to detect incoming first-person-view drones and automatically fire a projectile to destroy them.
However, the current ammo loadout of 12 rounds is insufficient for effective use in combat. For a tank to successfully engage and destroy a drone before being overwhelmed, a larger ammunition capacity is required. Developers are aware of this limitation and are now considering redesigning the system to fire more projectiles. However, adding additional rounds could prove challenging, as doing so may interfere with the tank's engine compartment and hinder maintenance access.
While the Arena-M may not completely counter Ukrainian drones, a tank equipped with the upgraded system could potentially survive long enough to reach its objectives. As Russia continues to amass new and refurbished tanks, the deployment of the Arena-M could provide the necessary protection to bring these armored assets back into active service.
Written by urgent.news from Euromaidan Press's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
