Military experts claim that design flaws cause problems for Russian tanks.
Hundreds of Russian tanks have been destroyed in Ukraine since the war began more than two months ago. The exact number of tanks lost is uncertain, but the British Ministry of Defense estimated 580 tanks earlier this week.
Military experts say CNN Those images from the battlefield suggest that one of the reasons for the heavy loss of the Russians, may be that the tanks have a flaw that the Western military has been aware of for decades.
What we’re seeing with Russian tanks is a design flaw, says Sam Bendet of the Think Tank for a New American Security.
“Troll in a Box”
He says that the error is related to how ammunition is stored and the so-called “troll in the box” effect, named after the children’s toy of the same name.
Unlike Western tanks, Russian tanks carry several projectiles in the turret.
This makes them very weak, because even an indirect hit can cause a chain reaction that leads to the explosion of ammunition depots with up to 40 projectiles.
CNN writes that shock waves can send the tower to a height equivalent to the height of a two-story building. There are usually two men in the tower and a driver in the wagon.
If you don’t get out within seconds, the food will be shredded, defense industry analyst Nicholas Drummond tells the news channel.
He says the bug causes problems for almost all of the armored vehicles Russia uses in Ukraine.
long training
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace believes that Russia may have lost as many as 580 tanks since the war began.
According to Wallace, more than 15,000 Russian soldiers lost their lives. It is difficult to say how many of these tank crews are, but there is no doubt that they are demanding a replacement.
Training such a crew takes at least several months, and one year is considered a short time, according to Alexei Rwinella, a former tank crew in the Finnish army.
1 / 5
The Western military became aware of the error during the Gulf War against Iraq in 1991 and 2003 – when a large number of Russian-produced Iraqi T-72 tanks met the same fate. Drummond says Russia has not learned from Iraq.
When the T-90 tank, the successor to the T-72, was introduced in 1992, the hood was upgraded, but the missile system remained the same as before.
However, there are some advantages to such a system. It saves space and gives tanks a lower profile, says Bendet, making them harder to beat in battle.
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