Last week, several Russian first-person view (FPV) drones struck a U.S.-made M1A1 Abrams tank in the Kursk region, but the crew was able to survive. The vehicle's commander lauded the American armor for saving their lives, but also highlighted some major vulnerabilities it has on today's drone-drenched battlefield. In particular he offered important insights on how Ukraine is adapting its M1s to survive -- lessons that could prove very valuable for the U.S. Army in future conflicts.
The drone attack was "the first time that the crew survived multiple hits while inside a disabled Abrams," the tank commander told Rob Lee (@RALee85), a senior fellow with the Foreign Policy Research Institute, and Michael Kofman (@KofmanMichael), a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment. "Actually, there were 4-6 direct hits. The crew survived, and even without injuries. God bless America."
A video of that attack, by an FPV drone with a fiber optic cable, was posted on Russian telegram channels. It showed the Abrams rumbling down a snow-dusted roadway and then cut to it being struck by an FPV drone, which disabled the tank. The video then shows another FPV drone strike on the left side side just below the turret. All the strikes came within about two minutes, the commander, who is with the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade, told Lee and Kofman.
The crew survived thanks to a combination of the Abrams' design and modifications the Ukrainians made after learning battlefield lessons the hard way, the commander explained.
The Abrams was designed with so-called blowout panels on top of the turret. The panels are fitted over the ammunition storage compartment at the rear of the turret. They are designed to help vent the force of any explosion upward and away from the crew in the event the tank is struck in such a way that causes the shells onboard to detonate.
"Thanks to the fact that the ammo is completely separated from the crew, the crew has a chance to survive (unlike in the T series tanks)," the commander exclaimed. "The Abrams is a great tank."
A seemingly endless stream of videos have appeared online showing Russian tanks experiencing what has been colloquially referred to as "turret tosses" as the stored munitions inside its hull explode, sending the turrets flying into the air. You can see an example of that in the following video.
The tank also "had a unique 'cope cage' (actually, 'cope netting') and a lot more ERA than an average Abrams," the commander explained. "At least one" of the drones "got stuck in the net. Two more missed several minutes before. They apparently hit the engine. They were unable to penetrate either the turret or the hull elsewhere while we were inside."
"Without the additional ERA and 'cope netting' on top of the turret, we would have been smashed and surely dead by now without any chance," the commander extolled.
While militaries around the globe have began integrating 'cope cages' and other anti-drone screens on their armor, the U.S. has not followed suit, at least yet.
The commander offered several more takeaways about the Abrams.
"The most valuable advantage of the Abrams is that, when having much additional armor and a thorough approach, it saves human lives, even in dire conditions," he noted.
"If the U.S. provided the tanks with the original armor and the complete [M-19 Abrams Reactive Armor Tiles (ARAT)] kits, this would make us more protected (although the top would still remain unprotected and we would need Kontakt-1, etc.)," he posited, adding some advice for the Pentagon.
"The American tankers should act promptly," he urged. "Their tanks are too thin and vulnerable given the current threats on the battlefield. Protect your tanks urgently to avoid losses in potential near-future conflicts, taking into account our experience."
The commander also dismissed concerns that the Abrams would be too heavy, even more so with two to three tons of additional weight from the added ERA tiles. In addition, he confirmed that Ukraine did not receive the latest version of the Abrams and they were sent the export version without depleted uranium armor.
Before receiving their tanks, the 47th spent time training how to use them in Germany. The commander said while they were able to fire off a lot of rounds, the U.S. troops conducting that training did not have a full understanding of the challenges Ukraine would face fighting Russia.
"Well, we got a luxurious shooting practice (around 100 rounds fired by each gunner) and some good overall knowledge about the tank," he explained. "But the American instructors AND military were completely unaware of the modern battlefield threats. And still are unaware (I communicate with some of the American tankers and try to share information with them)."
For example, the commander said his trainers "are shocked that Russians can see us at night with thermal-vision recon drones (we were taught that we would be haunting the Russians who are blind at night), they do not understand at all the threat posed by the FPVs, etc."
You can see a Ukrainian journalist's report on that training in the video below.
The U.S. donated 31 Abrams to Ukraine, which first arrived in September 2023. They were first seen in combat in February and the first images of one that was destroyed appeared online three days later. In August, Australia promised to send 49 Abrams tanks to Ukraine.
Ukraine has lost at least 17 Abrams, according to the Oryx open-source tracking group. Of those, at least eight were destroyed, one damaged, seven damaged and abandoned and one captured. The actual figures are likely higher in reality because Oryx only tabulates losses for which it has visual confirmation.
After the crew abandoned the Abrams, "Russian FPV crews hit the tank with several more FPVs...but the tank was not destroyed and might still be salvageable," the commander said. "Because of recent advances, Russian forces may capture it."
The commander and his crew made it back to friendly lines on foot.
"It was close to the Russian positions," he noted. "We could not evacuate because the FPVs were coming one after another. When I finally could hear no sound, we just jumped out of the tank and ran to a treeline. They were tracking us, so a mortar started working with some more drones, but we crawled away through the treeline. In the end, in a spot still under FPV control, our company commander rushed in and took us away."
Despite its flaws, imperfect training and combat under conditions never imagined, the Abrams tank is a hit with its crews.
"We...are in love with this tank and are immensely grateful to the United States," the commander said.