related thoughts on tanks
In terms of tank design, this is really the only design russia has mastered that is worth noting.
This is the boiler plate beginning of a “Turtle Tank” with the explicit recognition that what a “Turtle Tank” is, is not really a Main Battle Tank like a Leopard or Abrams, it is a Combat Engineering tool used to physically clear a path for assault forces under heavy fire… which is sort of what the tank began as in WW1 but an actual modern Main Battle Tank is far more dynamic and capable than an angry uparmored bulldozer…
Still, I am sure russia will find some success with this, a T90 is far better used as a bulldozer than a tank in my opinion… but that is because it is honest about how dysfunctional the russian military is at this point. One of the key strategic advantages of building this over a normal T90 is that this vehicle does not come fully loaded with tank shells ready to cook off. This increases the chance the crews will survive being destroyed by drones far more effectively than any other strategy russia has managed to come up with so far.
What is the counter to this you ask? Will Ukraine be able to stop armies of beefed up russian Turtle Tanks based on these vehicles?
Along with physical tank traps, mines, drones/air support and artillery, which already place this strategy into dubious question, the next decisive line of defense are Main Battle Tanks such as relatively modern Leopards and Abrams, IFV/AFVs such as Bradleys and the Lynx KF41 and Tank Destroyers such as a Leopard 1 with a removederill turret.
…or even older designs such as the Italian Centauro B1
Also a CV90 is a direct counter even as old as it is when you load it with AntiTank teams (drone or MANPADS).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combat_Vehicle_90
https://johnremovederill.com/en/press-and-news/news/eurosatory-cmi-defence-and-bae-systems-hagglunds-present-the-cv90105/
Also CVRT family British armored vehicles being delivered to Ukraine are also a direct counter.
These types of armored vehicles when used in concert with tank traps, mines, drones, surveillance, and other combined arms elements including especially loitering munitions and anti-tank guided rockets decisively counter russia’s doctrine of “Turtle Tanks”.
A single one of these Ukrainian armored fighting vehicles placed somewhat near the front can rapidly cover distance amid a combined arms defensive screen and smash russian Turtle Tank pushes that manage to break through and survive wave after wave of drone attack. You can say these vehicles are also vulnerable to drones, even more so than Turtle Tanks and that is true to a degree but note I said that in this doctrine the armored fighting vehicle is deployed AFTER Ukrainian drone teams have already identified and attacked a target and have requested help further up the chain of command. Thus the armored fighting vehicle sent to destroy these russian Turtle Tanks is not acting alone, but with eyes in the sky and on the ground keeping track of the threat landscape.
On the other hand, if the russian Turtle Tanks have been thoroughly attacked by drones they likely don’t have contact with drone reconnaisance and other supporting assets, either because they are knocked out or because the physical communication equipment on the outside of the Turtle Tank has been blown to pieces by repeated light drone strikes that failed to penetrate the tank armor but nevertheless still broke equipment.
The same goes for arguing that a traditional IFV such as a Bradley with an autocannon cannot necessarily penetrate a russian “Turtle Tank” built on a T90 chasis, for one antitank missiles can be carried by these vehicles but also the point isn’t necessarily penetration with the direct fire gun, that doesn’t need to happen for the tank to be killed. The point is an overwhelming barrage of force can be directed in concert with drone crews at a slow moving nearly blind behemoth until the momentum of the advance stops.
The irony of russia doubling down on the Turtle Tank is that you would have thought russia’s former understanding of the power of decisive concentrated artillery would have made it obvious how stupid the Turtle Tank strategy was. Yes in this case the artillery to defeat russian tanks are mostly delivered by drones, but the point about concentrating decisive power from a distributed network upon slow moving armored targets is really the same point just in a different context, especially when the sky is FULL of artillery spotters. In contrast, as heavy as the armor is on an Abrams tank, it was never built with the delusion that it would survive if it was too slow to escape russian rocket artillery…
the turret is very small. it will probably fly really high
I mean judging from the fact that the promo footage features it driving around with the tank commander standing clear out of the hatch when almost by definition any context these will be deployed in will be under constant drone threat makes me think that is indeed the fate most of these are destined for.
This is a most honest version of this vehicle but in wheeled type. Notice driving this comfortably with a good view doesn’t require you to stick your whole body up like a prarie dog waiting to get smoked by a hawk/drone.