Click to see full-size image. (Screengrab\Iraqi Defense Ministry)
The Iraqi military has begun to upgrade its Russian-made T-90S main battle tanks with an add-on armored package designed to protect against drones.
The Ministry of Defense released on September 25 video footage showcasing the local upgrade, which was clearly influenced by armored packages developed by Russia for the special military operation in Ukraine.
The armored package developed by the Iraqis includes a cage armor, covering the top of the turret and all of its sides. As a part of the package, the sides of the chassis were also equipped with so-called “soft case” reactive armor modules, which most likely imported from Russia where they first emerged in the mid-2010s.
The cage armor is meant to protect the turret from attacks with grenade-dropping and first-person view (FPV) suicide drones, which can hit in hard-to-reach areas like the rare and the top. Meanwhile, the soft case modules are meant to protect the chassis from such attacks, all while not harming the mobility of the tank.
The Iraqi military received some 73 T-90S – the export version of the original T-90A – from Russia under a contract signed in 2017.
It is also reported to be operating as many as 487 American-made M1A1 SA Abrams tanks, in addition to more than 478 T-72 and 150 T-55 originally made in the Soviet Union.
File image.
The Iraqi T-90S upgrade is not surprising considering that the country was the first to bear the brunt of facing weaponized commercial drones during the war on ISIS. Multiple tanks, mainly M1A1s, were knocked out by grenade-dropping drones deployed by the terrorist group.
Now, with the proliferation of FPV suicide drones technology, the threat to tank is even bigger, as such drones have proven to be much more lethal.
Iraq has been especially worried about a resurgence of ISIS in its western regions since the fall of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, which offered the terrorist group a chance to recognize and rearm in the central and eastern regions of Syria.
In addition, the country remains very cautious of Syria’s new Islamist-led government, despite engaging with it on all levels. The rebels who now represent the Syrian military are even more capable when it comes to drone technology than ISIS.
The Iraqi military is clearly preparing for the worst and considering the events that unfolded in the Middle East over the last two years, this is the right thing to do.
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ruzzian tanks are worth nothing.
they are effective enough for most purposes and wars a country like iraq could face. the main ineffectiveness of iraq during the gulf war and 2003 invasion was the ineffectiveness of its leadership and in ability to properly protect their airspace using outdated tactics and inability to adapt to a changing battlefield on the fly. russia in ukraine has adapted to constant drone harassment and modern at nlaw and javlin missiles and air strikes.
iraqs leadership was morr based on party loyalty then on battlefield capabilities. commanders who are innovative and take innitiative are seen as a threat to the regime. those whoe have knowledge dont share it but hold on to it to make their own position more secure. you saw it in syria tok the tiger forces were very effective. but many other units were garbadge with poor morale.
having the most expansive or modern tank dousnt matter much if your leadership and unit cohesion is lacl luster. during the gulf war some iraqi units were very effective those who took khafji for example they had obsolete t55 enigmas who actually did pretty well better then lion of babylons and t72m monkey model tanks.
iraq did not use its airforce effectively to keep their airspace some what secure most was used in ground attack roles not as interceptors.
iraq could have mounted a much better defense had they done more to adapt to these conditions or prevented the united states from a build up in saudi arabia all togheter by going in before their air units were stationed there. or if they effectively cratered their runways and jets they had stationed there with stratrgic missiles. or left kuwait before the full coalition came down on them. multiple ways how their army could have sustained much less losses. or been more effective
had iraq at the time done more to develop their own missiles missiles and drones could actually have destroyed the us their carriers. today a swarm of drones even low tech could destroy a multi billion dollar aircraft carrier and make the coalition suffer a fatal loss.
for them a less open field doctrine and more gurillia doctrine would have worked better less large army formations more sealth and hide and ambush tactics such as ieds missiles road side boms blowing up bridges setting on fire oil rigs alot of things that sabotage coalition advancement.
if hamas has shown the world anything it arent the weapons that make the army effective. its determination and cohesion and having a decentralized command structure. small unit initiative and cunningness are what makes an army far more effective then multi billion dollar weapon systems.
syria was able to keep israel and the united states out of their airspace most of the time with outdated equipment for 10 years under a brutal multinational coalition that was targeting them. clearly the saa had superior tactics and leadership to what iraq had during the ,90s and 2003.
islamic nations always at war—no surprises here.
terrorists not “rebels” smh. 🤦
yet iran has no t-90s .
iran has their own domestic designs and industry to maintain them something that is far better then to rely on a foreign supplier.
the only field iran lacks is in the intelligence services properly protecting their system from jewish subversion.
and not having a modern airforce. they should develop their own fighter and produce it in large numbers.
you dont need the most modern jets to win wars.
the greater israel project of lies extortion and and expansion dearly wants iran, saudi arabia and all other energy producing states under its control. iraq has been used, raped and plundered for its resources for many years. who really controls this army is the question.