#Soviet Tanks

Facing mounting battlefield losses from Ukrainian drones, Russian forces are resorting to increasingly desperate—and primitive—measures to keep their aging armored vehicles and artillery systems intact.

Faced with battlefield realities that have rendered traditional tanks increasingly vulnerable, Russian engineers are proposing a radical sci-fi makeover for Cold War–era armor—one that swaps brute force for lasers, drones, and flamethrowers.

Struggling to replenish its depleted armored forces, Russia is now pulling Cold War–era T-72A and T-72 Ural tanks—many in disrepair—from long-term storage, according to satellite imagery.

A surprising twist in the ongoing battle for armored superiority has emerged in Russia, where a US-supplied to Ukraine M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) has been photographed fitted with a Russian-made 30mm 2A72 cannon, despite previous claims that Western tanks and IFVs are overrated and “essentially useless.”

Russian soldiers have long followed a grim battlefield ritual: rather than riding inside armored vehicles, they ride atop them. While this might seem reckless, it’s often a matter of survival.