Russia says Ukraine lost an M1 Abrams tank after it was picked up by a pervasive threat making battlefield movements a nightmare

A M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank in 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division fires at a prop target during a live fire exercise on Feb. 17, 2023 in Petrochori Training Area, Greece. US Army photo by Pfc. Matthew Wantroba

• Russia says it knocked out an M1 Abrams tank near Avdiivka, a first for the US-made armor in service with the Ukrainians. 
• Pictures showed the aftermath of the attack, which Russia says came after a recon drone spotted it.
• The reported details highlight how drones are making battlefield maneuvering more difficult, even for higher-end systems.

Russia says that a US-made Abrams tank fell in Ukraine after it was picked up by a threat that has been a hassle for ground forces throughout the war.

Russian state media reported the tank was spotted by a reconnaissance drone before being knocked out. Some reports say it was struck by a one-way attack drone and then finished off by a grenade launcher.

It’s unclear to what extent the Russian reports are accurate considering their track record on things like this, but the reported details of the incident speak to how ever-present drones are complicating maneuver. This emerging technology is able to track and attack just about anything that moves in battle, posing a challenge for troops and equipment alike.

On Monday, photos and videos surfaced on social media of what appeared to be a damaged, burning Abrams tank. Those images were followed by reports that Russia had defeated its first Abrams in the war. Business Insider was not able to independently verify the imagery or reports.

In the picture, it appears that the tanks blowout panels on top of the turret helped vent the force of an explosion up and away from the crew, preventing a chain explosion of the ammunition stored in the tank.

Russian media reported it as a kill, citing a Kremlin-backed governor in the occupied Kherson region who said that troops with an element of Russia’s 15th Motorized Infantry Brigade located and destroyed the tank.

No information was given on whether the crew of the tank survived or if the Abrams was recovered by the Ukrainians or captured by Russia after the attack.

According to a post on Governor Vladimir Saldo’s Telegram channel, the tank was first detected by a reconnaissance drone and then subsequently destroyed somewhere near Avdiivka, which Russia just recently captured. He said the Abrams “burns even brighter than the Leopards,” referring to a German-made tank.

US Marines with Alpha Company, 2nd Tank Battalion prep the track on an M1A1 Abrams main battle tank in order to remove the front road wheel aboard Camp Lejeune, N.C., March 29, 2016. US Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Justin T. Updegraff

The Russian defense ministry also reported the kill, and on Monday Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that “from the very beginning, our soldiers said that these tanks would burn just like any others.”

The Russian explanation of events, which can be questionable, highlights how drones are a pervasive challenge as surveillance and attack assets.

They’ve been a problem for tanks across the board. The first German-made Leopard tank destroyed in Ukraine was apparently lost to artillery fire suspected to have been directed by a drone, and the first British-made Challenger tank defeated in the country hit a mine and was finished off by a Lancet drone.

And numerous Soviet-era tanks on both sides of the war, as well as more modern Russian tanks, have also fallen to drones.

When the US announced the transfer of 31 M1A1 Abrams to Ukraine last year, questions arose about how the tanks would fair against the prolific drone threat.

The American-made M1 Abrams was considered by experts and officials to be the strongest, most durable tank Ukraine had received from the West. There is always a chance something gets through, but “as tanks go, it is as good a protection as can be provided,” one expert said of the tank’s armor.

DJI Matrice 300 reconnaissance drones, bought in the frame of program ‘The Army of Drones’ are seen during test flights in the Kyiv region on August 2, 2022, prior to being sent to the front line. SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images

If the M1 Abrams tank was struck and defeated after being detected by a reconnaissance drone, as Russian reports say, the incident speaks to the continued difficulty troops and vehicles face in hiding or moving on the battlefield.

One drone expert said last fall that effectively anything that moves is at risk. “Welcome to the future. It sucks,” they said.

Recent reports have said that troops are sometimes hiking miles to the front lines because they cannot safely get vehicles close enough due to the drone threat.

Earlier this month, US Army Pacific top generals told Business Insider they were taking notes on drone usage in the war in Ukraine, seeing that at no time are troops “not under observation by some sort of method,” whether that is visual or electronic signaling and detection, and that makes things more challenging.

Russia’s claimed kill of an M1 Abrams tank comes just days after Ukraine published what it said was the first video of an Abrams tank in action. The video, published by the 47th Mechanized Brigade, showed the powerful tank on the move near Avdiivka and striking a few Russian positions.