Attacked by UAV, Russian soldiers abandon their most modern T-90 tanks

The Russian crew abandoned the T-90M after being hit by a Ukrainian UAV, although the tank did not appear to have suffered significant damage.

Video posted by the Telegram channel NMFTE in late December shows a small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of the Ukrainian 47th Mechanized Brigade crashing into the front of a Russian T-90M tank turret moving along a tree line.

The strike did not appear to cause significant damage to the T-90M, as the UAV hit the thickest armor on the tank's turret. A small fire broke out near the impact site on the T-90M a few seconds after the UAV hit.

Forbes editor David Hambling commented on January 4 that this could just be a tank's explosive reactive armor catching fire, but it still caused the tank crew to panic, driving the vehicle off the road, through the trees into an empty lot, and then making a sharp turn.

The driver opened the front hatch, ran out, and lay down on the ground, apparently fearing that the T-90M's artillery shells might explode. The commander did not ask the driver to return to the T-90M, but instead escaped with the gunner through the hatch on the turret roof. The T-90M crew ran back to their positions on foot, leaving the tank in the open field.

Russian soldiers abandon T-90M tanks after being attacked by UAVs

Russian T-90M tank attacked by Ukrainian UAV in December 2023. Video: Telegram/NMFTE

Some have suggested that the tank crew panicked or were cowardly enough to abandon the T-90M after the attack, even though the tank was largely undamaged. “However, the circumstances suggest that it was not that simple,” Hambling said.

"After the tank crashed through the trees, the cage armor on the roof collapsed, blocking the sight for both the commander and gunner, and even damaging the system," Hambling explained. The sight on the T-90M is a complex device that includes a thermal imaging system and a rangefinder, making it impossible for the crew to operate effectively without it.

"The commander did not stop the T-90M to inspect the damage or attempt to clear the collapsed armor plate. This may have been a wise decision," Hambling assessed.

The armor plate collapsed, obscuring the sighting cluster on a Russian T-90M tank after being attacked by a Ukrainian UAV. Photo: Telegram/NMFTE

Ukrainian tank hunters often use multiple UAVs to carry out coordinated attacks, with the first one rushing into the target to break through the armor, opening the way for the second to strike back.

This type of operation means that when one UAV hits a target, another can be right behind it. Even if only one is active, the crew can quickly deploy the next UAV within minutes to take out the target.

“There is no way to hide when you are in a tank. Moving behind a building or hiding in a tree line does not protect the tank when the reconnaissance UAV detects their position and the FPV can attack from multiple angles,” Hambling said.

In fact, Ukrainian forces later used a UAV to drop grenades into the turret hatch, destroying the abandoned T-90M. The Ukrainian soldiers may have found it too difficult to pull the tank back intact, even though it is the most advanced T-90 tank in Russian service. Russia has developed the next-generation T-14 Armata tank, but only a few have been built, it is not in mass service, and it has not seen much combat in Ukraine.

Russian T-90M tank destroyed by Ukraine in December 2023. Photo: Telegram/NMFTE

According to Hambling, the attack showed that even the most modern T-90M tank is vulnerable to UAVs. The same can be said of Western tanks, which were designed and manufactured before UAVs were widely used on the battlefield.

The next lesson is that cage armor hastily installed on tank turrets to protect tanks can do more harm than good. Both Russia and Ukraine have installed cage armor on tanks and armored vehicles to protect them from small UAV attacks, but F-P UAVs are now flexible enough to choose the most dangerous attack angles, rendering the roof armor useless.

"Finally, a tank cannot escape when it is being tracked by a reconnaissance UAV. During the attack, the commander knew that his T-90M had been detected by the enemy. Although the first hit did not cause the tank to explode, its destruction was only a matter of time. Thanks to the decision to abandon the tank, the T-90M crew survived the attack," Hambling concluded.

Nguyen Tien (According to Forbes, AFP, Reuters )

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