Russia's Next Drone-Beating Tech: The Dandelion Tank
Branching metal structures, similar to the florets on a dandelion, could further boost Russian vehicles’ protection against drones
Adding branching metal florets to a tank could protect it from first-person-view drones
This “dandelion tank” is still just a concept, but potentially a sound one
The Russians are introducing anti-drone innovations at an accelerating pace
The add-on armor increases the cost of Ukrainian drone operations
Russia’s anti-drone innovations are coming faster and faster. The next might be a so-called “dandelion tank” with branching metal florets that can trigger enemy first-person-view drones before they strike the vehicle’s hull.
If past generations of Russian anti-drone defenses are any indication, the dandelion defense might actually work. Even if it is very, very ugly.
The dandelion tank design recently appeared in a Russian patent application noted by observer AndreiBtvt. “The passive protection device consists of sets of rods made of flexible material, interconnected into a tree-like (branching) structure that forms a voluminous protective barrier,” AndreiBtvt wrote.
No dandelion tanks have appeared along the 1,100-km front line of Russia’s 45-month wider war on Ukraine. Yet. But they may show up soon, marking the next step in vehicular evolution.
In 2022, there were “cope cages”—encasements with metal slats or mesh that, installed atop or around an armored vehicle’s turret, might block incoming FPVs.
A year later, the “turtle tanks” first appeared. Now entire vehicles were wrapped in drone-blocking metal shells. In 2024, the Russians added hundreds of thick metal spines to some cope cages or turtle tanks, betting—correctly, it turned out—that the resulting “porcupine tanks” would absorb even more drones.
This year, the spines became thinner metal “hairs” made of unwound aluminum cable. The “hedgehog tanks” wearing potentially tens of thousands of these hairs are the best-protected vehicles of Russia’s 45-month wider war on Ukraine.
Some of these up-armored vehicles—the turtles, porcupines and hedgehogs, in particular—can eat dozens of FPV drones before finally succumbing. That toughness increases the chance a Russian assault group might make it through the drone-patrolled no-man’s-land and drop off infantry to seize new positions.
But Ukrainian drones and tactics improve alongside Russian defenses, so the Russians have been thinking ahead to the next innovation. The dandelion tank may be a leading candidate for front-line use.
The key to the new anti-drone design is its layers, AndreiBtvt explained. “The tree-like structure comprises multiple tiers. Each tier contains flexible rods of varying lengths and cross-sections. The upper tiers are made of thin-section rods, while the lower tiers consist of thicker-section rods.”
“The number of rods increases from the bottom tier to the top,” AndreiBtvt added. “The rods are connected to each other using easily detachable coupling elements. The flexible rods are made of fiberglass rebar of various diameters. The coupling elements are made of shaped sheet metal or impact-resistant plastic.”
“Between the upper tiers of the tree-like structures, a fine-mesh net made of high-strength synthetic material (e.g. Kevlar-type) is stretched.”
Read the rest at Euromaidan Press.
Three words: explosively formed penetrator. Detonate it a few meters above the dandelion.
This will certainly work against FPV drones, for a while anyway. However, I do not see this as effective in close terrain, against ground robots or off route ground ambushes by devices such as the GLADIUS and PARM, particularly combined with artillery and mortar barrages.