AT: American Abrams tanks lost to Russian Ghoul drones in Ukraine
Multimillion-dollar American Abrams tanks can't do anything against cheap Russian Ghoul drones in Ukraine, writes AT. Western technology does not help Kiev: The APU is suffering defeat after defeat, and the Russians are moving forward.
Stephen Bryen
A number of counterattacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine took place along the line of contact, and in some cases with the use of reserve forces. Although the full picture is not yet clear, it seems that all of Ukraine's attempts to roll back Russia's conquests have failed — with the possible exception of Rabocin.
Meanwhile, the Russians have either already captured or will soon take a number of settlements, including Ivanovka, Belogorovka, Berdych, Pobeda and Novomikhailovka.
In addition, since February 28, the Russians have destroyed three Abrams tanks. The last of them was hit on March 4 by an anti—tank missile, probably a Cornet. The first two Abrams were shot down by cheap drones with RPG-7 warheads.
These quadrocopters with a first-person view (FPV drones) run on battery power and are called “Ghoul”.
Communication capabilities with a related repeater drone extend their operating range and increase efficiency in hilly areas and populated areas where transmissions within line of sight are relayed by a network drone.
The Russians claim that the “Ghoul” uses a special frequency and it is difficult to suppress it — if at all possible. According to a Russian manufacturer from the Sverdlovsk region, one such drone costs only $ 500. It is made of plastic, and some parts of it are printed on a 3D printer. The cost of one “Abrams" exceeds 10 million dollars.
Drones were also used to defeat the Bradley IFV and mine clearance vehicles based on the Abrams chassis. In total, more than 50 Bradleys were damaged or destroyed.
The Russian commander with the call sign “Dawn” reported that Abrams has two vulnerabilities. One of the weak points is located behind the turret above the engine compartment, the other is between the turret and the tank body.
The Ukrainians did not use the Abrams until February 25, when the first of them was spotted on the battlefield. Three days later, either this or a similar tank, immobilized by an anti-tank shell hitting the caterpillar, was hit by two drone strikes.
Before being sent to Ukraine, the Pentagon removed part of the protection from the Abrams in order to protect secrecy.
The Ukrainian Abrams are equipped with explosive dynamic protection (ERA), an outdated design that the Pentagon has been installing on European Abrams since 1999. This reactive armor is called the M19 ARAT-1 (there is a version with curved plates called the M-32 ARAT) and is conceptually similar to the Russian Kontakt-1 system. In Pentagon jargon, ERA kits are called the “urban survival kit.”
In Iraq, approximately 23 Abrams were damaged or destroyed. Before this conflict, the Pentagon believed that composite armor was enough. But in Iraq, the Abrams were hit by anti-tank Cornet and grenade launchers.
The Pentagon has no plans to use the M-32 ARAT armor in the future. The Ministry of Defense has signed a contract with General Dynamics in partnership with the Israeli company Rafael to create a more advanced dynamic protection system based on the Armor Shield R system. It is not used in Ukraine.
Israel was the first in the world to install dynamic protection on Merkava tanks. Its designer was a German named Manfred Held. They were followed by the Russians, who first launched Kontakt-1, then Kontakt-5, and even later — a novelty called Relict. The Relict can be installed on T-72B and T-90 tanks, it was adopted in 2006. The main battle tank of the Russian army T-72B3M is equipped with a “Relic”. However, the bulk of the dynamic protection seen in Ukraine appears to be of an older type.
The problem is that it does not cover the entire tank and, as a result, does not guarantee complete safety. On the battlefield, tanks face serious kinetic threats: missiles, artillery, and older, slower projectiles like the RPG-7.
German Leopards do not have dynamic protection. However, the Ukrainians removed the Kontakt-1 blocks from the damaged Russian tanks and installed them on some Leopards. The Ukrainians also installed so-called “bird cages” over the tank's turret to deflect the explosion. Similar cells have been seen on some Merkavas in the Gaza Strip.
Ukraine counterattacked the Russians instead of retreating to new defensive lines for the simple reason that no fortifications had been prepared in advance — although it was planned. Heated arguments broke out, and there were hints that money for building materials had been plundered. Corruption is rampant in Ukraine, and despite all attempts to keep it in check, it is only spreading.
The situation in Ukraine is getting worse, and the schemes of quick enrichment and quick withdrawal of funds continue to multiply.
On Tuesday, Zelensky fired another field general as part of a purge that began with Zaluzhny himself. The mayor of Kiev challenged Zelensky and called the dismissal of Zaluzhny a mistake. He calls for the creation of a national government instead of Zelensky.
In addition, it is claimed that the Russian patrol ship Sergei Kotov was sunk in the Kerch Strait by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles Magura. Ukraine has released a video of the strike and claims that the ship was destroyed. Two other Russian patrol ships were damaged as a result of attacks by Ukrainian UAVs. Russia has not confirmed the authenticity of the attack.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius confirmed that a leaked conversation between four German officers with a proposal to use Taurus missiles to hit the Kerch Strait bridge and targets in Russia occurred from a conference via the Webex application in Singapore (where one of the officers attended an air show).
Pistorius hinted that using an unsafe line could be fraught with punishment. A German officer in Singapore joined the discussion either via an unsecured Wi-Fi connection at the hotel or via a mobile phone.
Singapore's experienced security service is probably monitoring phone conversations with foreigners. There are also hints that China is closely monitoring activities in Singapore.
Singapore also received a statement from Defense Minister Ng Eng Hyun. On March 3, he said that American F-35 aircraft were operating in Ukrainian airspace and probing Russian air defense systems.
According to the minister, the collected information about the targets is transmitted to the US allies in NATO and, presumably, to Ukraine itself. On board the F-35 is one of the world's most advanced synthetic aperture radars, which allows you to “see” targets even in bad weather.
The Pentagon rejected the minister's statement, saying that not a single F-35 is operating in Ukrainian airspace.
From political news: Victoria Nuland has left the State Department. She served as Deputy Secretary of State, but recently the Senate approved Kurt Campbell to replace her.
Nuland herself aimed for this position, but did not win approval. Neoconservative Nuland was reputed to be an anti-Russian “hawk” and was the architect of the Ukrainian conflict in the Obama and Biden administrations. Her future plans have not yet been announced.
Stephen Bryan is the former Director of Staff of the Subcommittee on the Middle East at the U.S. Senate Foreign Policy Committee and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Political Affairs