Why Russia is losing so many tanks in Ukraine
In recent weeks, images of ruined Russian “tanks” and wrecked convoys have filled social media feeds.
But do these photos represent a larger trend or just isolated incidents? Is the Russian military paying for its military offensive in the form of hijacked tanks?
After all, in any conflict the first loss is often the truth.
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According to some reports, like the insider, Russia certainly sees tanks and other equipment seized or destroyed by Ukrainians: the news organization estimates that 10 percent of Russian military equipment is destroyed. But it may not be accurate.
While Russia has lost many military vehicles outright, it is a fraction of the army’s fleet.
Most of these losses appear to be from Western-supplied FGM-148 “Javelin” missiles and Next Generation Light Antitank Weapon (NLAW), which are specifically designed as anti-tank weapons. Therefore, the Russian loss shouldn’t be as much of a surprise.
Some experts have even claimed that we may be seeing the end of tanks as an effective military weapon. Some claim that they may soon be sent down into history with chariots, mounted cavalry and warships.
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This may sound like a bold claim to everyone who has associated tanks with the idea of war for more than 100 years, but inaccuracies about Russian losses aside, is something for consideration.
One of the main problems is the difference between a “real” tank and other “tank-like” military vehicles. While the definition of a tank has changed over time, today, the term generally refers to a main battle tank.
Other armored vehicles, such as armored personnel carriers, self-propelled artillery, and other mechanized infantry transports, are often classified as tanks in news reports when, technically speaking, they should not be. For this reason, there could be a steep fall in the deficit figures. Thankfully, Oryx breaks down the disadvantages of Russian vehicles by technical class, which makes it very easy to gauge just how severe the Russian losses are.
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According to Oryx, at the time of writing, Russia has lost somewhere in the region of 279 tanks, of which 116 are destroyed, 4 are damaged, 41 are abandoned. Some 118 have been apprehended. This may sound like a huge amount, but the Russian Federation has 12,240 battle tanks.
However, most of those 12,240 are older Soviet-era designs, such as the T-72, which is over 50 years old. If this figure is correct, the actual tank losses to date are closer to a few percent, not 10.
One should also be careful about the numbers, as both Russian and Ukrainian sources will either under-report or over-report the damages for propaganda purposes. Ukrainian military forces will also use similar ones. Often identical, military hardware was left over from their time as part of the Soviet Union. After all, it wouldn’t take much time to put on some Russian flag uniforms or paint the now famous “V” or “Z” icons on wrecked vehicles.
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Why is Russia losing so many tanks to Ukraine?
As several military experts have pointed out, the main problem appears to be Russia’s inability to supply and maintain its stockpile of hardware. So far, most combat vehicles we’ve seen in action have been poorly maintained, and supply lines seem to have stretched to the breaking point.
Not only that, large units such as tanks are left exposed without infantry support or air support – a significant weakness for these powerful weapons of war.
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Tanks, even older tanks like the T-72, were used by the U.S. They are technically obsolete compared to modern tanks like the M1A2, but that doesn’t mean they’re not lethal when put on display and used effectively.
For example, the United States lost some of its most advanced tanks to the obsolete T-72 during the Battle of Medina Ridge in 1991.
Modern anti-tank missiles and most interestingly, drones are making a significant impact. And it is the use of drones that has attracted the interest of military analysts through the Ukraine conflict.
Turkish drones like the TB2 have been used excellently by the Ukrainian forces. These can either attack tanks directly or be used as spotters for artillery.
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“We’re really looking at Ukrainian military drones, the Bayraktar TB2 and smaller drones, to significant effect against Russian armored vehicles,” former US military ranger Paul Schare told Insider. “Drones can be very effective in contested airfields, in part because they can fly low and partly because you’re not putting a pilot at risk.”
In their aspect of warfare, the role of tanks would need to be adapted – like every other weapon of war, or would face extinction on the battlefield.
Why Russia is losing so many tanks in Ukraine
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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by News East India staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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