
The latest Russian version is claimed to be so effective it can tackle not just low-speed rockets and missiles but tank rounds coming in at hypersonic speeds. This is similar to Israel’s highly successful Trophy system – no Trophy-equipped tank has ever been damaged by an RPG. The T-90M is supposed to be defended by Russia’s latest Active Protection System, which detects incoming rounds with radar and knocks them down with interceptors. The shot should never have made it that far. The gun stabilization system needs the barrel to be as light as possible, so the armor tends to be thinner here.

The mantlet was identified as a weak spot in earlier Russian tanks. The Ukrainians claim the shot hit under the T-90M’s gun mantlet, the metal shield around the gun itself. It is normally called an ‘anti-armor’ rather than ‘anti-tank’ weapon because the small warhead is not (usually) powerful enough to breach the frontal armor of modern main battle tanks. AT4 is a pun on the weapon’s 84mm caliber it is an unguided weapon, weighing just 15 pounds, compared to 48 for the Javelin, with a range of 300 meters compared to the Javelins 2,000+.

and Sweden, is a lightweight shoulder-launched anti-armor weapon. The Swedish-made Saab AT4, sent by the U.S. Ukrainian news says a Ukrainian soldier scored the kill with an AT4 anti-tank weapon. Two different stories are circulating, and both may be false. We do not know for sure what weapon destroyed the tank(s). It is possible Russia lost two of its prized T-90Ms at the same time.

This also smokes badly, suggesting another kill. Basic T -72s cost about $500,000, the new T-90Ms reportedly costs around $4.5 million.Ī closer look at the video shows a second vehicle farther away hit at the same time as the first. Now it is playing exactly the same game with more expensive pieces. This is the lesson Russia failed to learn in the early stage of the war.
