Russian fiber optic drones attacked ‘Ukrainian Abrams tanks’ in Kursk

Russian media on November 10 published a video shot from a computer screen, showing the process of a suicide drone attached to a fiber optic cable tracking and attacking a target believed to be the M1A1SA main tank. Abrams of Ukraine in Kursk province.

In the video, the Russian drone flies low along a dirt road, weaving between bare trees and under power lines. The plane moved until it discovered the tank was hiding and camouflaged with dry tree branches. The front of the tank is fitted with many Kontakt-1 explosive reactive armor blocks made by the Soviet Union, while most of the turret is covered with steel mesh specialized to deal with drones.

The Russian drone rushed into position behind the turret, where the ammunition compartment was located and there was no protective net. The video signal was cut off after the drone’s explosive device was activated, the results of the attack are unknown.

The Russian Ministry of Defense and the Ukrainian army have not commented on the information.

“The number of targets destroyed by fiber optic drones is still increasing and the enemy has not taken appropriate countermeasures. This shows that Russia has massively deployed this type of drone to all units on the front line,” The_Wrong_Side account said. specializes in publishing documents about Russia’s raids in Ukraine

Fiber-optic drones allow clear images to be transmitted to the operating crew, even when the vehicle flies low and close to the target, which is out of direct line of sight. Radio-controlled drones often lose connection when lowering altitude to crash into targets, causing images to be distorted, blurred or completely cut off.

This type of drone also maintains combat effectiveness in environments heavily jammed by the enemy, because the signal transmission does not depend on radio waves.

However, attaching fiber optic cables can limit the maneuverability of drones, causing them to only perform specific tasks in certain terrain, to avoid cables becoming tangled or caught in obstacles. The operating range of fiber optic drones is also limited by the length of the wire the vehicle carries.

Ukraine’s 47th Independent Mechanized Brigade on October 21 released a video showing M1A1SA Abrams tanks and M2A2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles shelling a series of houses in a village in Russia’s Kursk province. This is the first time Abrams tanks have appeared in Kursk province since Ukraine launched a campaign to attack Russian territory in early August.

The US has transferred a total of 31 M1A1SA Abrams tanks to Ukraine, enough to equip an armored battalion. Ukraine once claimed that the $10 million US tank model would be an important weapon to help them break through enemy lines.

However, this tank force suffered many losses even though it was only deployed in a limited manner and did not participate in coordinated raid campaigns like NATO military doctrine.

According to a comprehensive report by Oryx, a war information analysis site based in the Netherlands, at least 16 Ukrainian Abrams tanks have been destroyed since the start of combat at the end of February. This also agrees. The Ukrainian army has lost half of the total number of Abrams tanks donated by the US, not including the vehicles lying on the ground due to malfunction or damage in combat.