23 January, 2025
The modernized Ukrainian Leopard 1A5 has withstood a series of attacks by Russian FPV drones, demonstrating its reliability and effectiveness of additional protection.
The video of numerous damage to the combat vehicle was released by Russian operators of attack drones.
The combat vehicle was spotted by Russian drone operators in one of the forest belts. After that, the attack copters were sent in the tank’s direction. It withstood three hits to the frontal area, as well as two more to the left side and stern, and then moved to leave the danger zone.
As the tank drove onto the road, it made a stop for unknown reasons, during which it received three more hits to the roof of the engine and transmission compartment. However, this did not damage the engine, as the tank continued to move forward. Only two hits to the same spot, which followed the first strikes, stopped the tank and probably caused a fire.
It is noteworthy that the Ukrainian crew fought for their vehicle to the last. Their fate is currently unknown, but there is a good chance that the crew survived, as most of the hits were to compartments far from it. The time interval between the drones’ attacks was sufficient for the soldiers to evacuate.
The outstanding survivability of the Leopard 1 in this battle is quite unexpected, as the vehicle developed in the 1960s incorporated specific concepts: the designers neglected armor protection, focusing on high mobility and firepower.
In the Russian-Ukrainian war, the focus of possible threats shifted from anti-tank guns and tanks to high-speed attack drones. Therefore, the designers of the Main Armored Vehicle Directorate developed a massive set of hinged dynamic protection, grilles and nets for the Leopards that would comprehensively protect the vehicle.
It was the mounted protection that played a key role: the dynamic protection units “neutralized” penetrating damage from cumulative ammunition, and the nets and grilles over the stern delayed some of the hits. In a similar situation, the basic version of the Leopard would most likely have been destroyed by the first hits along with the crew.
Ukrainian Leopard 1A5 tanks, September 2023. Photo credits: ArmyInform.
Ukrainian Leopard 1A5DK, October 2024. Photo credits: Ground Forces of Ukraine
At the same time, it is also worth noting that the vehicle did not have effective electronic warfare equipment on board, which would have suppressed the radio control channel of the drones in advance. Poor saturation of tactical electronic warfare equipment, let alone high-quality systems, is currently leading to significant losses in military equipment on the front line.
Recently, Militarnyi covered another episode where a Ukrainian M1A1SA Abrams withstood six hits from fiber-optic drones in the Kursk region, saving its entire crew.
The Abrams commander credits his life and the crew’s survival to the additional protection, as well as to the tank’s sophisticated design with a separate battlefield and knockout panels.
“Without the additional dynamic protection and the nets on the top of the turret, we would have been smashed and definitely died without any chance,” said the tank commander.
I wonder how many drones the best russian tanks can withstand? I would suggest less than 3 or 4 looking at all the video evidence.
And when they get destroyed, they give us a wonderful show … the turret toss.