Installing Russia's Arena-M active protection system on T-72B3A and T-90M tanks rules out also fitting the vehicles with the massive slat-armor cages known as "mangals," according to the Telegram channel Military Chronicle.
The channel pointed to footage showing a T-72B3A fitted with Arena-M in the zone of Russia's military operation in Ukraine. The tank carried only a small steel screen covering part of the turret roof rather than a full cage, since Arena-M's components are mounted on the turret and a large cage could interfere with the system.
Crews apparently have to choose, the channel said: either the active protection system, whose installation exposes the tank's rear, or a heavily caged tank, nicknamed a hedgehog.
How the Arena-M system works
Arena-M consists of a radar that detects incoming threats, a computer and defensive munitions housed in launch tubes. When a projectile approaches, the system fires a counter-munition to intercept it.
In July, the outlet Izvestia reported that Russian servicemen in the SVO zone had begun training on T-72B3A tanks equipped with Arena-M.
