Trench Art

Trench Art

Behold The Explosive-Shell Russian Turtle Tank

349 add-on explosive armor elements on one tank

Nov 05, 2026
∙ Paid
A Russian turtle tank with hundreds of ERA elements. Via Russian state media

by DAVID AXE

A photo has circulated depicting an up-armored Russian tank with no fewer than 349 bags and tiles of explosive reactive armor.

That’s … a lot of ERA. Normally, a Russian tank might roll out with half as many ERA elements or even fewer.

And for good reason. Where are you going to fit hundreds of ERA tiles, each of which is the size of a loaf of bread or, on the higher end, a toolbox?

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