Photos released by Ukrainian soldiers on April 16 show a Russian tank with turtle shell armor covering most of its body operating near Krasnogorovka, a small city located west of the capital Donetsk of the province of the same name.

The roof of the turtle shell armor seems to be made of corrugated iron roofing panels, above which there is a cluster of electronic warfare equipment specializing in jamming drones with 8 antennas facing out to all sides.

Russian soldiers recently installed turtle shell armor on tanks on the battlefield to fight Ukrainian suicide drones.

Russian tank with turtle shell armor and electronic warfare cluster on the roof in photo released on April 16.

The turtle shell armor structure on the Russian tank has a significantly higher electronic warfare cluster than the two previously appeared.

It is unclear whether inside the turtle shell armor there is additional protection such as mesh or cage armor to prevent UAVs from entering the gaps in the front and rear of the tank.

The Russian military and some other countries have installed armor cages on the roof and around the body of tanks to prevent drones from dropping bullets, suicide drones or anti-tank missiles capable of breaking through the roof.

However, because drones are becoming more and more popular in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the warring parties are forced to create larger and more complex armor to deal with highly maneuverable drones that can penetrate gaps in the airspace.

`The turtle shell armor severely limits the turret’s rotation and the crew’s ability to observe the situation. The weight and shape of the structure significantly reduce the tank’s mobility,` editor Joseph

Location of the city of Krasnogorovka.

Russian tanks and armored vehicles with anti-drone electronic warfare complexes have appeared more and more on the battlefield since March. Ukraine also installed similar equipment on combat vehicles to deal with Russian drones.

The above mentioned electronic warfare systems interfere with signals between the drone and the operator, hindering control operations or preventing the vehicle from transmitting images to the base.

This can be especially difficult for first-person perspective (FPV) suicide drones, where the operator needs to receive video signals to bring the vehicle close to and attack the target.

Western experts assess that Russia possesses many jamming devices capable of suppressing Ukraine’s signals by broadcasting on the same frequency with higher power.

However, Russia’s electronic warfare capabilities are uneven along the more than 1,000 km long front line.

Russian soldiers have recently installed electronic warfare systems on combat vehicles, but these are usually temporary measures.