Russia converts a T-72AMT captured from Ukraine into a tank that controls like an FPV drone

Russia converts a T-72AMT captured from Ukraine into a tank that controls like an FPV drone

The drones FPV -First Person View or First Person View- They are one of the leading weapons in the ukrainian war for its effectiveness, low cost and simplicity of use. As published by Russian media and can be seen in images circulating on social media, the Russian Army has decided bring your control system to your tanks. Russia has plans for the deployment of remote controlled tanksRTKs for their acronym in English, self-developed in Ukraine, but it has been advanced with the conversion of a T-72AMT captured from the Ukrainian Army that can now be controlled remotely and through a viewer, as if it were an FPV drone.

There are precedents for the use of remotely controlled tanks in mine clearance operations, which is the most likely use it could have. But another option is to use it as a tank for charge the front line. According to Army Recognition, the Ukrainian T-72AMT has been designated as Vasya and has anticipated the incorporation of other unmanned vehicles such as the Uran-9a semi-autonomous vehicle designed for reconnaissance and fire support missions used in Syria but which has had problems and is being improved, and the Sturma remotely controlled tank built on the tank chassis T-72B3, which Russia wants to bring to Ukraine. The video was recorded in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhiawhere the largest nuclear power plant in Europe is located and which has remained under Russian control since shortly after the start of the invasion.

T-72AMT tank.VoidWanderer.Wikipedia.

The video begins with the view of the inside of the tank. Then the camera pulls back to show that It is a screen on a helmet in the style of one for virtual or augmented reality. You can also see a soldier, without the visor, using a controller to move the tank that is a few meters away and also how he rotates the turret and aims. At another point in the video, there are two soldiers controlling, again with the visor, the T-72AMT. Presumably, one deals with the movement of the machine and the other with the weapons system.

The images do not clarify Vasya's ultimate purpose. One of the concerns of the Russian Army is to clear the fields of planted mines to stop their advance. Russia has used the so-called 'turtle tanks' For this end. In the first case that emerged from the use of these tanks with modified protections last April, it appeared with a mine plowwhile a more recent variant boasted a series mine roller KMT.

However, despite their improved protection, these turtle tanks have proven be vulnerable to FPV drones. A modified tank like the Vasya would allow mine clearance operations without endangering the lives of soldiers.

This is something the United States has done in the past. Mine detection and clearance vehicles M60A3 Panther and M1 Panther IIwhich have been used in Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq, can be operated both by an onboard crew and remotely.

Another possibility is that it could be deployed as an FPV tank that could be used for basic but extremely dangerous tasks. For exampleequipping it with large amounts of explosives to attack the front line and explode when given the order.