Russian troops are relying on bizarre home-made buildings in the war against Ukraine. Latest invention: the “hedgehog tank” with wire spikes against kamikaze drones.
Nov 7, 2025, 9:57 amNov 7, 2025, 9:57 am
Anna Von Stefanelli /
Thousands of kilometers of front, a war of technology – and an army that protects its tanks with wire and radio waves: In Russia’s war of invasion against Ukraine, a silent arms race is raging between drone pilots and tank commanders.
A Ukrainian soldier trains with a drone.Image: www.imago-images.de
While Kiev uses maneuverable kamikaze drones to target armored vehicles, Russian troops are making improvised upgrades.
New footage shows T-72B3 and T-80BVM tanks covered in dense wire netting and radio jammers. In military channels they are now called “hedgehog tanks”. This means that the tanks are once again based on the appearance of animals.
Tanks: After “turtles” and “porcupines” come “hedgehogs”
As early as 2023, Russia’s “turtle tanks” caused ridicule in Western military circles – vehicles covered with improvised metal shells to ward off attacks from above. Later, so-called “porcupine tanks” appeared, whose steel struts acted like a defensive crown.
So now the next step: a mesh of dense wires that is stretched across the entire top of the tank. Loud “medium.com» “thousands of wire spikes stick out of the cages”. They are intended to damage the propellers or explosive devices of the drones or cause them to explode early. In addition, the Russian units installed radio jammers to disrupt the control of the remotely guided missiles.
«They are ugly, heavy and certainly difficult to drive. But that doesn’t mean they don’t work,” writes US military expert David Ax in his report.
An improvised race between attack and defense
According to Ukrainian war observers, quoted by ntv, the goal is clear: the tanks should at least slow down the ever-growing swarm of Ukrainian kamikaze drones. Because these small but precise explosive charges have developed into one of the most effective means against Russian technology at the front.
According to Ukrainian-American analyst David Kirichenko, an average Russian battle tank requires “around eight drones to be taken down.” Every additional layer of protection makes the attacks more expensive and more complex – even if it makes the tanks more immobile.
As can be seen in several videos, the modified vehicles were reinforced with reactive armor – a system that is intended to dampen the impact of projectiles through targeted counter-explosions. It is still unclear where the most recent recordings were taken.
Deterrence through metal spikes – or symbol of desperation?
Despite their massive appearance, the “hedgehog tanks” are not miracle machines. Even their predecessors, the “turtles” and “porcupines,” often only survived a few days at the front. At the end of May, a Ukrainian unit released a video showing how such a tank was destroyed – despite its protective construction: A drone hit directly into an open hatch.
Nevertheless, these conversions are part of a larger trend: Russia is reacting to Ukraine’s technological lead in the field of drone warfare with ever new, often improvised measures. “As long as small explosive drones are one of Kiev’s most important defensive weapons, anything that could disrupt them is worth trying – no matter how ugly or clumsy it seems,” says David Ax.