The Russian military has demonstrated a modernized T-72B3 tank with the Arena-M active protection system capable of intercepting anti-tank missiles.

Russian propaganda Telegram channels published photos of the new equipment, reporting that the first vehicles had appeared in the combat area.

On the sides of the turret of the new vehicles, the system was mounted with launchers for counter-munitions and radar equipment that actively detects high-speed objects and sends a signal to intercept them.

When a threat is detected, the system calculates its speed and direction of flight, then calculates the interception point and sends a signal to launch the interceptor, which explodes in midair and hits the target with a directed stream of debris.

Arena-M firing tests on tanks of this model were conducted in 2021, as evidenced by Russian television footage from the training facility. In them, the modernized T-72B3 successfully intercepted and destroyed a shaped charge from an RPG-7 anti-tank grenade launcher.

Despite the launchers’ rigid fixation, the countermeasures can cover almost the entire sector of fire around the vehicle by turning in the direction of the threat. This is achieved by the operation of impulse engines, the signs of which can be seen in the test footage.

However, even with the rotation, countermeasures have a significant blind spot in the upper hemisphere, which is often hit by barrage munitions and third-generation anti-tank missiles such as Javelin.

Arena-M was originally designed as a defense against anti-tank missiles and was not intended to counter drones. In early 2024, Valery Kashin, general designer of the Russian Design Bureau of Instrumentation, said that his department was working on adapting Arena-M to intercept attack drones. Still, it is unknown whether this has been implemented in metal.

“The active defense system designed to protect against anti-tank weapons has been submitted for qualification tests. At the same time, we are improving the system to protect against barrage drones,” he said.

This should affect the operation of the radar system and the onboard computer, whose sensitivity and selection system should be adapted to detect and identify small objects.

In addition, the issue of intercepting attack drones-multicopters that can move non-linearly and actively maneuver in space will remain open.

Read more on the iterations of the development of the Russian Arena system, its principle of operation, and features in the article “Can Arena protect Russian tanks?”.