A Russian armored vehicle covered in protective plates was blown up by a drone after the commander forgot to close the hatch.
The embarrassing failure was caught on camera and shared by Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, as footage showed the metal ‘turtle tank’ rolling across a muddy battlefield in Ukraine before being destroyed.
The Russian combat vehicle, clad in a protective sheet of metal in an attempt to prevent Ukrainian drones from causing damage to the tank, could be seen shakily moving down the road unaware of the destruction that would follow moments later.
As the rusty-looking vehicle passed through the area, the clip cuts to the drone’s perspective and shows the device penetrating the tank after passing the sheet metal outer casing and sliding into the open hatch.
The “iron shed” then bursts into flames, casting an orange glow into the sky in a humiliating mistake by the Russian commander.
The Russian ‘iron shed’ tank could be seen traversing a Ukrainian battlefield before being fatally hit by a drone.
The Ukrainian drone targeted the metal-clad tank and managed to penetrate an open hatch before the vehicle exploded.
The ‘turtle tank’ was hit by the drone and quickly burst into flames
Tank explodes in fireball after drone slides inside
Bright sparks were thrown as the fire continued to burn through the metal vehicle and the tank was left a pile of charred ruins after the drone hit.
The makeshift tank cover only covers the sides and top of the vehicle, apparently allowing operators to fire projectiles from the tank.
These makeshift Russian tank covers have recently been seen popping up across Ukraine as Vladimir Putin’s dwindling forces desperately cling to methods to protect them from powerful Ukrainian drone attacks.
In April, a video leaked to Telegram channels showed three metal-covered Russian tanks lumbering across a battlefield in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Krasnohorivka while coming under fire.
Although the covers do not appear to affect tank movement, their efficiency is unknown as they appear to reduce much of the tanks’ visibility.
Russian tanks have been greatly affected by Ukrainian drones after a NATO official told Foreign Police last month that more than two-thirds of Russian tanks attacked were destroyed by drones.
Many are manufactured cheaply and use commercially available components that often carry improvised ammunition, including grenades or homemade bombs.
Experts believe the ‘iron shed’ tanks are likely modified to offer protection against Ukrainian drone attacks, which are becoming increasingly prominent due to the lack of conventional artillery shells in Ukraine.
A video leaked to Telegram channels shows Russian tanks beneath blocky, turtle-like metal shells that appear to have been retroactively installed outside.
Another video shows three Russian tanks with their covers lumbering across a battlefield in the Ukrainian-held city of Krasnohorivka while coming under fire.
AFV Recognition, an authoritative social media account that tracks Russian armor, wrote last month: “It has coverage to the rear, leaving only the front open to drone attack, which in my opinion would be quite difficult to classify an FPV drone if it’s moving.”
“It’s easy to point at them and laugh at them, but if you can cross open terrain while being impervious to drones and then breach a line that can be exploited, you’ve served your purpose.”
The armored armor could also serve to “mitigate AI drone recognition,” the account added in an Instagram post.
Due to resource shortages, Ukraine has apparently created an AI-powered drone that can locate Russian targets from further away and be more resistant to electronic countermeasures in an effort to boost its military capabilities as the war progresses.
Deputy Defense Minister Kateryna Chernohorenko said kyiv is developing a new system that could autonomously discern, hunt and attack its targets from afar.
This would make drones more difficult to shoot down or jam, he said, and reduce the threat of retaliatory attacks for drone pilots.
‘Our drones should be more effective and guided to the target without any operator.
‘It should be based on visual navigation. “We also call it a ‘last mile target’, aiming based on the image,” he told The Telegraph.
At first, military experts described the makeshift tank covers as an example of Russia’s lack of preparedness for war, but it is now widely recognized that makeshift defenses are required due to the continued development of drone warfare.
