US tanks weren’t ready for Russian attacks. Ukraine has a fix

The American-made M1 Abrams is considered one of the world’s premier tanks, yet has still proven vulnerable to Russian drones and explosives on the battlefield in Ukraine, which had sidelined the armored behemoth. 

But Ukraine has now improved the Abrams, better protecting it through a relatively simple method: steel cages wrapped around the frame.  

Ukrainian officials behind the effort tell The Hill that the retrofit has worked extraordinarily well at protecting not just the Abrams but also other U.S. armored fighting vehicles like Bradleys. 

For the $10 million apiece Abrams, the relatively crude fix has helped keep the tanks on the battlefield.

Ukraine’s 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade, an elite unit that has been fighting on the frontlines, said in a statement to The Hill that “protective screens for combat vehicles such as Abrams and Bradleys are essential to preserve not only expensive equipment, but also the lives of soldiers on the battlefield. “ 

“Although the Abrams is considered one of the best tanks, it is not invulnerable to threats such as anti-tank missiles and drones,” they said. “The development of additional protective structures is an important step to reduce the risk of damage from modern threats, including drones and explosives.” 

Olexander Myronenko is the chief operating officer of Metinvest, one of the businesses supporting the Steel Front initiative, the project behind the steel cages that was started by the Ukrainian billionaire Rinat Akhmetov to provide equipment for the military.

Myronenko told The Hill that the screens can take one strike before they need to be replaced, but they are very effective at protecting the tanks by absorbing the hit and increase survivability by around 35 percent. 

“The drones usually [try to] stop the machine, to stop the armored vehicle, so they try to hit the engine [or] the turret of the tank to block it,” he said. “And when the tank is blocked or stopped on the battlefield it’s just like a sitting duck for the artillery or another type of drone. 

“That’s why this protection is necessary, to not allow the drone to do such damage,” Myrononeko added. 

Ukraine began pushing for the Abrams tanks not long after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, but the plea became more urgent at the beginning of 2023. 

The U.S. faced pressure from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other officials in Kyiv to give them the tanks, and soon top lawmakers in Congress were joining the calls. 

The Biden administration agreed to send 31 Abrams tanks in January 2023, and the decision also unlocked the ability for Germany to send its prized Leopard tanks. 

The first Abrams arrived in September 2023, and by October, all 31 of the tanks were in place. 

But just a few months later, reports began to circulate that the Abrams were being taken off the battlefield under assault from Russian drones. 

The Associated Press reported in April that five of the tanks had been lost to Russian drones and were taken off the frontlines. 

Because it received just a limited number of tanks, Ukraine is likely to have already been predisposed to closely guard its Abrams. But the Russian drones proved there was a serious weakness in the prized tanks.  

“When you think about the way the fight has evolved, massed armor in an environment where unmanned aerial systems are ubiquitous can be at risk,” Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice Chairman Adm. Christopher Grady told the AP in April. 

Grady said the U.S. would be working with Ukraine on the issue. The Pentagon and the manufacturer behind the Abrams, General Dynamics, did not respond to requests for comment on this story. 

Creating steel cages, or slat armor, is not a new idea, with German and Soviet forces similarly armoring their vehicles in World War II. And U.S. servicemembers did something similar during the Iraq war for armored Strykers to protect against rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) threats. 

Still, Dan Grazier, senior fellow for the National Security Reform Program at the Stimson Center, who served in an Abrams tank unit in Iraq, said the Ukrainian steel cage design was “ingenious.” 

“The idea of using a cage like that is to create some space so a round fired at it will hit that cage that will trigger the fuse below the main charge,” he said. “And instead of that main charge going directly into the armor, there’s that little bit of space that will kind of blunt some of the energy.” 

On both sides of the war in Ukraine, drones have been crucial, showing for the first time how these unmanned systems are changing warfare. 

Russia’s drones have menaced Ukraine, particularly in the past year-and-a-half after the fighting shifted to the 600-mile frontline across eastern Ukraine.  

Russian forces are tracking armor with surveillance and bombarding them with cheap, small, kamikaze-style, explosive drones called first-person view (FPV) drones that can even fly into a tank hatch before going off. 

The Ukrainian military approached Steel Front for a solution as they sought to get their sidelined armor back onto the frontlines, knowing the initiative had worked on similar efforts before.  

Steel Front, which has also made cages for Soviet T-72 and Ukrainian T-64 tanks, said one major shortcoming of the Abrams was that it had no fortification against Russia’s FPV drones.  

That made the Abrams “unideal for use during the war’s current state,” Steel Front said in a press release provided to The Hill. 

So Steel Front, along with military engineers, analyzed the vulnerabilities on the tank that were typically damaged by FPV strikes to come up with the steel cages.  

Myronenko said an initial solution was first tested on Soviet tanks. 

“The main thing is, there is a space between a protective screen and the main armor of the machine. And when the drone hits, it hits the protective screen [and] this explosion is not damaging the main armor,” he said. 

The steel structures are wrapped around the hatch, turret and center-top of the tank, though crews can still easily exit it. There is also additional armor covering the tracks, which if hit can completely halt the tank. The primary armament, a 120mm Smooth Bore gun, is still freed up in the modification. 

The steel screens cost some $20,000 to make for an Abrams tank, according to Myronenko, but they are provided for free to the Ukrainian military. Each screen is made specifically for each type of tank. They cost a bit less for Bradleys.

“With this new technology, the Abrams tanks are nearly invulnerable to attacks from Russian drones,” Steel Front said in the press release. 

But the steel screens are heavy: some 900 pounds. Steel Front says they are designed to not limit the operability of the tanks. 

Grazier said one drawback to the steel cages is that they increase the load of the Abrams, which is designed to carry the weight of the tank, around 70 tons. 

“It’s a very robust suspension system, but if you do start adding a bunch of weight to it beyond its design, then you could potentially have some mobility issues,” he said. “The mobility problem that you have when you start adding weight [will] increase the wear and tear on the components of the suspension.” 

So far, 25 Abrams have steel cages, while 100 Soviet tanks and 75 Bradleys have received the upgrade, Myronenko said. 

The first orders of steel cages were completed in May and rolled out around June, according to Myronenko. They were built in a factory in Ukraine (sources did not disclose its location for security reasons). 

Steel Front said it has 10 to 12 specialists working on the tanks, which can take up to 12 hours to be equipped with a steel screen. 

The first modified tanks came just weeks before Ukraine’s August incursion into Russia, which used combined arms warfare to make a surprise blitz into the Kursk region.  

Ukraine has now taken in Kursk some 500 square miles of territory, captured around 100 settlements and imprisoned hundreds of Russian troops. 

The outfitted vehicles have made a difference on the battlefield, Myronenko said.

“When the tanks get hit by the shell or RPG or drone, they have more chance to stay alive and to save the machine,” he said. “Most of the feedback are requests to continue this production.”