Image source: topwar.ru
A column of "turtle tanks" on the way to Krasnogorovka
The use of so-called "turtle tanks" on the front line in Ukraine seems to be becoming the new norm. Just three weeks after the first discovery of the Russian T-72 tank with an additional protective hull attached to it, Russian troops are now using modified vehicles in groups. This is evidenced by the clip that is now walking on social networks.
Russian military blogger Boris Rozhin posted a video on Telegram from a drone of a column of "turtle tanks". According to him, the recording was made last Saturday and shows the attack on the small town of Krasnogorovka in the DPR. The footage shows four "turtle tanks", presumably upgraded infantry fighting vehicles, and the main battle tank, entering the city area under fire from Ukrainian artillery. In the end, it seems that only one of the cars returned to the Russian positions. According to the military blogger, the attack was aimed at transferring paratroopers to the city.
The first "turtle tank" was spotted near Krasnogorovka in early April. Just a week later, a Ukrainian drone spotted another instance of an improved design in the area. Instead of a flat protective panel, the second "turtle tank" had a higher design, apparently to protect the infantrymen. The design has proven itself. According to the pro-Ukrainian blog Defense Express, during its baptism of fire, the prototype unloaded Russian attack aircraft near Ukrainian positions, and then drove back again.
The experience gained by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation with the "turtle tank" now seems to affect tactics. Instead of just putting one of the vehicles at the head of the attacking column, several "turtle tanks" are used at once.
The Ukrainian armed forces are having problems defending against these, as they call them, "monsters" due to a shortage of artillery shells, mines and anti-tank weapons.
- wrote the pro-Ukrainian military blog "Life on the front line" about a video that allegedly shows the attack of a "turtle tank" on the city of Chas Yar. According to the Telegram channel, it took "a lot" of FPV drones to repel the attack.
The use of "turtle tanks", which are also called "King Grill" in itself is not big news. The use of such tanks has already been discussed many times, including at the military. The innovation, however, is the use of several machines with such a modification. This could be, in a more refined form, a solution to the problem that we faced at the beginning of our work. Then the enemy attacked our tank columns relatively successfully with the help of FPV drones. As a result, we often had to abandon the use of tank columns, now this may change.
Also, changing the enemy's attitude to this design is not only a reason for pride, but means that now the enemy will begin, and perhaps has already begun, the development of methods of counteraction. Of course, we should not stop there and continue to improve this design, as well as the methods of its application, which is what happens, following the information from this article.
