An improvised protective screens on the turret of Russian army T-72B1 tanks were seen in the occupied Crimea, reports Militarnyi with reference to a video posted on social networks.

This solution, which is part of a broader trend to improve the level of protection of Russian tanks, could well have been inspired by last year’s Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

These structures, added to the turrets of Russian tanks, are rigid slatted metal grids, which are clearly designed to protect against attacks directly from above. While traditionally, tank protection has been concentrated on the sides and front of its hull. The appearance of these screens often changes on Russian tanks, which may indicate the lack of a single solution.

It seems that so far there is no standardization of this concept in Russia. Probably, the search for the best option is still underway.

Armor of this type has recently been increasingly used on Russian tanks, previously similar grids were seen on tanks of the T-72B3 model.

Probably, these top-mounted screens are a response to the threat posed by modern anti-tank guided missiles, such as the Javelin, which strike from above and are in Ukraine’s arsenal.

Although the main function is probably to protect against munitions dropped by drones, possibly from Bayraktar TB2 attack drones, which are also in Ukraine’s arsenal.