The massive use of cheap drones in the Ukrainian war has forced armies to modify all their armored vehicles on the fly.
And given the constant threat of kamikaze FPV-type devices, Both Russian and Ukrainian troops are deploying a new protective variant known as «hedgehog tanks».
This is an improvised solution that seeks to guarantee the survival of combat vehicles by installing external barriers designed to detonate explosives remotely.
A barrier of spikes and cables to protect the shield
Unlike the famous cages that cover the entire turret, hedgehogs are characterized by a more chaotic structure.
The soldiers weld dozens of spikes, metal rods, chains and steel cables onto the tank hull that protrude between 30 and 60 centimeters from the main armor.
The goal of this design is to fool the drone’s detonation mechanism, since most of these devices explode on contact.
If the drone collides with one of these protruding rods, the explosive charge is activated before touching the actual body of the tank.
When detonated half a meter away, the jet of energy and molten metal disperses into the air and loses the force necessary to pierce the vehicle’s armor, thus preventing damage to the interior.
Mechanical problems and loss of mobility
It should be noted that this modification has been observed both on Russian T-72 and T-90 tank models and on M113 armored transports used by Ukrainian forces.
However, adding these structures has a significant operational cost. And it is that The extra weight of the metal overloads motors and transmission systems, which are not designed to move that extra mass.
Reports indicate that these vehicles frequently suffer mechanical breakdowns after traveling just a few kilometres. Furthermore, being heavier and bulkier, they lose agility.
They become slower and have trouble crossing obstacles such as ditches or muddy terrain, which paradoxically makes them easier targets if they become immobilized.
New attack tactics to win the war
Hedgehog tanks have caused an immediate evolution in the way they attack, because drone operators are changing their strategies to override these protections.
Currently, coordinated attacks are being used in several phases: a first drone is launched against the external protections to break the cables and clear an area of the armor, and a second drone takes advantage of that gap immediately afterwards to destroy the vehicle.
Additionally, both sides are testing new types of explosives capable of penetrating armor without the need for direct physical contact.
This shows that countermeasures in this conflict are evolving at a very rapid pace. What works as a shield today may become obsolete tomorrow due to a new flight tactic or a more powerful explosive.