Western militaries, however, had been spurred into action by the T-72’s fate in Iraq. Bendett, at the Center for a New American Security, said Russia had chosen this system to save space and give the tanks a lower profile, making them harder to hit in battle.

There are some benefits to such a system. Alex Chan Tsz Yuk/SOPA Images/Sipa/Reuters He said the BMD-4 was a “mobile coffin” that was “just obliterated” when hit by a rocket.Ī destroyed Russian tank sits in the village of Dmytrivka, Ukraine. He gave the example of the BMD-4 infantry fighting vehicle, typically manned by up to three crew and able to carry another five soldiers. “If you don’t get out within the first second, you’re toast.”ĭrummond said exploding munitions are causing problems for almost all of the armored vehicles Russia is using in Ukraine.

The flaw means the tank’s crew – usually two men in the turret and a third driving – are sitting ducks, said Nicholas Drummond, a defense industry analyst specializing in land warfare and a former British Army officer. “Any successful hit … quickly ignites the ammo causing a massive explosion, and the turret is literally blown off.” “What we are witnessing with Russian tanks is a design flaw,” said Sam Bendett, adviser with the Russia Studies Program at CNA and an adjunct senior fellow with the Center for a New American Security.

Sergei Chuzavkov/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images A man inspects destroyed tank of the Russian army about 40 kilometers west of Kyiv, the Ukraine capital.

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