Thank you, you waited: tanks sent to the North Military District received fender protection.
Instead of an introduction
Perhaps we should start with the platitude that's been ringing out of every iron 24/7. It's that Uralvagonzavod has dramatically increased its output. tanks For the needs of the front, producing them both from scratch and by refurbishing and modernizing vehicles taken out of storage. And there are no discrepancies here—the Tagil residents are truly working three shifts and churning out equipment for active troops.
There's just one significant problem: in wartime, armored vehicles need to be quickly adapted to meet current threats, lest they become completely irrelevant. And this has created, to put it mildly, a bit of a drag, which continues to this day.
We're not talking, of course, about the coveted active protection systems—even if they went into production, given the massive tank production rate, no budget would be sufficient, not even in Russia, and that's not even taking into account training crews and maintenance personnel to operate such systems. In this case, it's all simpler: gaps in tank protection are patched with a delay that can sometimes last a very long time.
For example, T-72B3 tanks received all-round explosive reactive armor only towards the end of 2022, by which time it had long been clear that the standard ERA kit on the 2016-model tank left many vulnerable spots for shaped-charge (HEAT) weapons. And the same "backpacks" (later replaced by metal containers) with additional explosive reactive armor on the sides of the tanks, which were often torn off by contact with obstacles, were replaced with steel containers properly secured with chains only in 2023.
T-72B3M model 2022 with dynamic armor on the fenders. The overlap is minimal. It literally offers no protection.
Finally, only this year did the T-72B3 and T-90M tanks (and perhaps the T-80BVM as well) receive proper fender protection—one of the significant improvements, which at first glance seems like a minor detail. The troops at the front had been waiting for this for a very, very long time, making do with crude homemade devices instead of proper industrial equipment.
And it's "reasonable" because, with the start of the special military operation, our tanks already received fender protection, albeit extremely meager, consisting of a pair of explosive reactive armor blocks above the idlers in the front. Now, this fig-leaf-like armor has finally been supplemented, expanding the armored area to the entire length of the fenders. But first things first.
Fenders are a tasty morsel for drones
From a functional standpoint, tank (and not just tank) fenders, as a structural part of the hull, are quite useful. They provide additional protection for the vehicle's undercarriage from various destructive influences, reduce the spread of dust and dirt while the tank is moving, and also serve as a convenient location for external fuel tanks, various tools, spare parts boxes, etc.
However, in the era of widespread distribution dronesWhen an experienced operator of an unmanned "buzzer" with a shaped-charge grenade under its belly can slam this deadly machine into any exposed vulnerable spot on a tank, the fenders become a problem. Unlike the front, sides, and even the rear of the hull and turret, which are now heavily protected by explosive reactive armor and other means straight from the factory, they are extremely vulnerable to attack.
A schematic representation of drone attacks on fenders
When a shaped charge (on a drone) hits the fender from top to bottom at a slight angle, the shaped charge jet, having penetrated it, easily penetrates the side of the tank's hull. As a result, there is a non-zero probability of damage to the internal fuel tanks, followed by a fire, or damage to the ammunition rack, leading to detonation or combustion of the tank's ammunition. Moreover, sometimes even such improvised methods as "dreadlocks," frayed cables, rubber "burdocks," and even "smoothing" are ineffective due to the large residual armor penetration of shaped charge ammunition—especially for PG-7Ls and older.
That's why our tankers have long since stopped refueling the external tanks on the fenders, as the presence of fuel in them leads to fires outside the armor, which can have unpleasant consequences. At the same time, they try to shield the fenders from potential drone attacks as much as possible using improvised means, ranging from filling empty fuel tanks with sand to even installing homemade reactive armor.
What did Uralvagonzavod propose?
Just recently, a UKBTM patent was published on the website of the Federal Institute of Industrial Property, which, incidentally, makes a passing reference to our "Military Review," specifically this article: How the special operation solved the problems of equipping our T-72B3 with dynamic protectionSo it turns out they read us at UVZ too. But that's not the point.
The patent title is quite lengthy: "A method for providing additional armor protection for a portion of the chassis hull of a ground armored vehicle comprising a chassis with shelves along the sides of the hull designed to accommodate equipment, property, and additional protection." However, this string of words conceals the main point—a description of protection for the fenders.
It has already entered production, as is clearly visible in the images below. They also feature a T-90M, which should now probably be called the T-90M model 2026. There's also an even rarer "beast" that will soon become widespread—the T-72A, modernized to the T-72B3M model 2022 standard. We might soon see something similar on the T-80BVM.
What did the residents of Tagil propose and, most importantly, implement?
They proposed a "Lego" construction kit that could be used to construct armor specifically tailored to military needs. It consists of just four main components—blocks or modules of varying sizes—that can be attached to tank fenders to supplement existing dynamic armor.
The first two types of modules are almost identical to the standard fender ERA blocks installed on, for example, the T-90M and T-72B3M. They are designed to be mounted on the fenders closer to the front of the tank. The modules are low in height to ensure free movement of the tank's gun and good visibility from the driver's station. Their primary purpose is to protect the tank's driver's compartment from shaped-charge projectiles, although, depending on the angle of impact, they can also protect the fighting compartment.
A module of the first type (in the patent, the first set) for protecting the tank's fenders in the forward section. 16 is the cover, 10 is the protective module of the first set.
Due to their size, these blocks, of course, can't hold much. They're simply two metal plates bolted together. However, some inert material like rubber or plexiglass could be placed between them, turning them into NERA—non-explosive reactive armor, the operation of which you can read about. hereOr, if desired, we could place elements of the familiar explosive reactive armor between them—both would have a noticeable effect in protecting against cumulative weapons.
A second-type module (in the patent, the second set) for protecting the tank's fenders in the forward section. 17 is the cover, 11 is the protective module of the second set.
The third and fourth modules are designed as rectangular, box-shaped containers. They can be mounted on the fenders near the fighting and engine compartments. Despite their different shape and size from the previous two module types, they remain within the vehicle's height limits and allow for free rotation of the turret.
The third type of module is a container containing a NERA element—a sandwich of two steel plates with an inert material layer between them—positioned at an angle. The module's lid is designed so that two additional NERA sandwiches can be installed directly inside, as well as standard dynamic protection elements such as the 4S20 or 4S22, making it a combined module.
A third-type module (in the patent, a third set) for protecting the fighting and engine-transmission compartments. 14 — NERA sandwich, 19 — cover, 22 — NERA sandwiches, or explosive reactive armor elements.
The Type 4 module is essentially a smaller version of the Type 3 module. It also contains a NERA armor package, and the cover can accommodate a single explosive reactive armor element or an additional steel/rubber/plexiglass/steel sandwich.
Module type four (in the patent, the fourth set). 14 — NERA sandwich, 18 — cover, 22 — NERA sandwich or dynamic protection elements, 23 — container wall armor
Moreover, as stated in the patent, armor packages can also be installed on the side walls of the containers, which will improve the tank's protection at angles close to the classic ones, and not just from above.
Essentially, these blocks or modules are the key invention, as they allow the fenders to be loaded with a wide variety of protective equipment. In other words, Uralvagonzavod has created a package whose contents can be customized to suit the specific needs.
As an example, below is an image from a patent, where the fenders of the T-72B3 tank are protected by a combination of standard dynamic protection and all four types of modules of the protection described above.
1 — tank, 2 — right fender, 3 — left fender, 4 — right side skirt, 5 — left side skirt, 6 — right screen of built-in side dynamic protection (standard), 7 — left screen of built-in side dynamic protection (standard), 8 — dynamic protection in the front compartment of the right shelf (standard), 9 — dynamic protection in the front compartment of the left shelf (standard), 10 — protective module of the first set, 11 — protective module of the second set, 12 — protective module of the fourth set, 13 — protective module of the third set, 21 — fastening wire
Final World
So what can we say as a conclusion?
Well, I guess we should say, "Thanks for waiting." Tankers at the front had long been waiting for a solution to the problem of fender protection from drone attacks, sometimes making do with the most brutal makeshift solutions. And finally, in the fifth year of the special military operation, this very solution was found.
The fenders do overlap almost their entire length, making it difficult for kamikaze drones to hit the tank in these vulnerable spots. The versatility of the pods' equipment is also impressive, so well done, no doubt about it. The only issue is the excessive variety of modules, which will clearly create confusion in terms of supply and combat use.
But there's not much room for creativity here. The geometric shape of tank fenders is such that creating universal modules for them is simply impossible.
One can only hope that Uralvagonzavod will one day find a better replacement for the standard factory-installed "grills" with which tanks have been standardly equipped for years now. These contraptions are not as useful as one would like, and are quite outdated, since in fact they only protect against drones that are designed to drop ammunition.
Source of information and images:
Patent RU2855547C1 of the Ural Design Bureau of Transport Engineering
Information