Russian forces are successfully using T-72 tanks fitted with a makeshift shed-like metal cover on top to help protect against drone attacks in the special military operation.
These "cope cage" armored vehicles, also known as "turtle tanks," were specifically designed to survive strikes by Ukraine's first-person view (FPV) kamikaze drones.
One of the "turtle tanks," which reportedly "looked to have the largest metal covering seen to date," recently supported a Russian troop offensive near the town of Krasnogorovka.
In one episode, the tank, nicknamed a "tsar grill," added to a successful landing of Russian assault troops and their subsequent offensive outside the town, something that was reported by German journalist Julian Roepcke.
He shared a video of the onslaught, which showed the tank moving forward despite Ukrainian forces’ attempts to stop it. And while Roepcke stressed his anti-Russian sentiment by referring to the Russian troops as "invasion forces," he begrudgingly admitted that the "turtle tank" was moving "unharmed", noting that "Ukrainian defenders" were not in the picture.
An X screenshot showing a Russian "turtle tank" in the special military operation zone.
© Photo : X/@JulianRoepcke
The War Zone (TWZ) news channel has, meanwhile, reported that in addition to the cope cage, the "turtle tank" mentioned by Roepcke is equipped with "an omni-directional counter-drone electronic warfare jammer with eight antennas, a design that has been increasingly seen on other Russian tanks and armored vehicles."
The TWZ pointed to an "apparently growing number of ‘turtle tanks,’” which "look to be part of these renewed Russian offensive operations."
Russian military correspondents, for their part, touted "the turtle tanks" as "the fruit of someone's harsh genius," and "indeed the most combat-ready example of armored vehicles which fully meets the realities of modern warfare."
The appearance of the “turtle tanks” was preceded by the Russian armored vehicles using grill-like anti-drone armor, also called "cope cages," to tackle strikes by Ukrainian FPV drones in the proxy NATO war.