First came Russia’s “Turtle Tank,” a metal shed rattling across the battlefield. Then Ukraine laughed at the so-called “hair tank”, coated in long, wavy metal wires.
Now the “dandelion tank” has arrived.
Moscow’s latest crude design, which consists of flexible metal rods arranged in branch layers, attempts to protect the tank’s body from the ever-present threat of tiny kamikaze drones.
It may sound ridiculous, but analysts say the Oduvanchik (dandelion) anti-drone armor could provide the best protection currently available for expensive vehicles.
It’s the latest in a series of strange-looking Russian inventions that have emerged over the past week, each inspiring some level of banter online. They include patents for camouflage nets to disguise debris and giant rotating propellers to protect Soviet-era vans.
But in such a long and largely static war, which demands endless innovation at cheaper and cheaper costs, any edge can save lives on the front.
The unorthodox dandelion-inspired modification was first pictured last week, covering a Russian T-90M tank inside a warehouse. It is unclear when it will be deployed for combat, but Russia’s Ministry of Defense has recently patented the design.
Reinforced metal rods are joined together to form a tree-like structure that spans several layers, forming a three-dimensional barrier, like the flowers of a dandelion. In any trenches, a high-strength net is stretched between them.
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If an explosives-rigged FPV (first-person-view) drone flies toward the tank, the rods should detonate at a distance, shielding the hull from most of the explosion. For every extra inch the drone is moved away, the tank has a better chance of survival.
On top of the T-90’s substantial base armor, Russia often adds explosive reactive armor and metal cages. Combine that with the Dandelion Defense and “you’ve got the best passive anti-drone defense currently available,” wrote David X, a military correspondent, on his blog, Trench Art.
It is an upgrade of the “hedgehog” armor, with thick broom-like bristles protruding from the sides of the vehicle, used by Russian forces the previous year and later by the Ukrainians.
Credit: @GrandpaRoy2/ X
“Going forward, you can use all kinds of spikes, chains, cages, or a combination of all that can save soldiers’ lives,” said Ukraine-Russia weapons expert David Kirichenko.
“Ukrainian soldiers once mocked the Russians for putting cages on their vehicles, now they’re doing it too,” he told the Telegraph.
Ukrainian forces were pictured earlier this week showing off a new design on a large infantry fighting vehicle that featured dandelion-like anti-drone armor, hair-like bristles, and metal sheets hanging from chains.
Ukraine also uses a version of the ‘Hedgehog’ tank
“That’s part of it [the] “The endless development of experimental and innovative innovations from both sides,” Mr. Kirichenko said. “There is a constant race to identify weaknesses, produce countermeasures and countermeasures, and adapt to the changing conditions of the battlefield.”
However, like many other anti-drone systems, there are weaknesses. All the extra gear adds to the vehicle’s weight, slowing it down and exposing it to the harassing drones ahead.
Also, dandelion armor is far from impenetrable. Ukraine is proving increasingly adept at flying drones under tanks and vehicles to strike from below, where weapons are weakest, or using FPVs to drop mines in its path.
Valery Ryabikh, a Ukrainian weapons analyst and editor of Defense Express, also pointed out how such defenses are ineffective against “conventional weapons, such as artillery shells, especially high-precision ones.”
But when it comes to drones, he said: “It can be effective for a while until the adversary picks up the key to this security or breaks it.”
Photos have also recently been shared of a new type of Russian camouflage net.
It can conceal gun, artillery or infantry positions under a carpet of fake shattered bricks that look like rubble and dirt, hiding equipment from Ukrainian drone operators.
A net made of fake debris can hide vehicles from overhead drones
Mr Riabikh said that, like the Dandelion Tank, it would probably only be useful for a limited time.
With the emergence of AI and image processing tools installed inside drones, its distinctive features could automatically highlight nets to drone operators, he said, “unmasking features that will lead to even faster destruction of those who use them”.
A Russian vehicle covered in fake debris netting
Another early strategy that emerged last week is the use of large propellers mounted on the roof, front, back and sides of civilian vehicles.
Short of modern armored vehicles, Russia has been using vans, trucks and jeeps for front-line operations for two years. Such unsecured vehicles are easy targets for Ukraine.
A Russian civilian van with rotating propellers used as a counter-drone measure
According to a Russian patent, when a drone tries to attack a protected vehicle, “there is a high probability that he will enter the rotating area of one of the blades”.
Analysts at The Telegraph largely dismissed such a design, citing how exposed the van was and the fact that the propellers cost more than the vehicle they were intended to protect.
But any modifications, however trivial, could allow both sides to buy time, Mr Riabikh said, “and time is everything on the modern battlefield”.
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