Russia’s New Anti-drone Innovation- Rubber Mats for Tanks

Russia’s T-90 tanks have been fitted with a simple but effective anti-FPV drone device, a set of reinforced rubber mats hanging from the turret housing to fend off FPV drones.

FPV drones are known to get under the gap between the turret  housing, an area considered the most vulnerable part of a tank.

Russian MoD’s TV channel, TVZvezda today showed the anti-UAV rubber mats mounted on a T-90 tank as part a report on Uralvagonzavod, Russia’s main tank manufacturer.

One of the visible innovations is rubber reinforced screens - additional protection from drones, the report said.

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“During operations, metal structures become deformed, break, and lose their properties,” TVZvezda quoted an officer of the military representative office at JSC NPK Uralvagonzavod as saying. Since the start of the special military operation, the designs of tanks including the T-90, are constantly being refined and improved, he said.

Russia earlier experimented with metal cages on top of tank to fend off top attack munitions and drones. It is not know how successful the experiment was. There are regular videos and images in Ukrainian media of burning Russian tanks equipped with top protection cages.