A new video apparently shows a Ukrainian T-64BV knocking out a Russian tank from 10,600 meters away, or 6.5 miles, which make it the longest-range tank kill ever, doubling the previous record. Many commenters doubted the claim, triggering a discussion by open-source intelligence analyst Ukraine Weapons Tracker. However, the claim looks plausible. It seems the anonymous gunner achieved this impressive feat with the help of a small drone and a Ukrainian secret weapon: an Android tablet loaded with locally produced software.
The Ukrainian tank gunner hit the unidentified Russian vehicle with indirect fire from a 125mm gun, which is highly unusual. Or at least it was until this conflict.
In general, tank combat is almost invariably fought over visual range. You line the enemy vehicle up in your crosshairs and fire a shot which travels in practically a straight line. Tank guns are optimized to fire high-velocity rounds traveling at around a mile a second with extreme precision, due to the need to score a kill with the first round. If you miss once, you may not get a second chance in the fast and furious arena of tank combat. Tanks fire around one shot every six seconds, so if the opponent has not been destroyed they have time to take aim while you reload.
Indirect fire means using a tank gun as an artillery piece rather than a sniper rifle, lobbing the round on a curved trajectory to pass over intervening obstacles and strike beyond visual range. Firing blindly, the tank gun gives up its accuracy but gains in range. Historically, tanks have occasionally been used this way as light artillery, but it is inefficient – you’re throwing small amounts of explosive compared to ‘real’ artillery pieces – and the practice was pretty much discontinued decades ago.
In the current conflict though, we are seeing something different. Rather than just firing indirectly at area targets, Ukrainian tankers are firing at individual vehicles and hitting them, as plenty of videos show. How are they doing it?
One thing is immediately obvious: the videos are taken by drones, and the Ukrainian gunners are not firing blindly. The drone operator is telling them exactly where each shot falls so they can adjust aim.
This is not as simple as it sounds. Figuring out where to exactly aim the gun when the target is out of sight is quite a challenge, which is where Kropyva (“Nettle”) comes in. Back in 2014, a Ukrainian volunteer organization called Army SOS set out to help the military. The organization had many technical specialists who were able to help with drones, but these were not enough on their own. The team also developed Kropyva, proprietary intelligence mapping software running on any Android tablet. This has greatly increased the effectiveness of drone reconnaissance and found many other uses. (Army SOS is supported by public donations – you can give here).
The Kropyva is a tactical system running on an Android tablet enabling precise indirect fire at long ... [+]
Kropyva is supplied as a rugged tactical system compatible with NATO-standard secure communications and is used at all levels from divisional command right down to individual vehicles. It provides mapping of battle lines and targets, and calculation of artillery fire missions. It is specifically designed to work with drones and automatically receive data, then calculate the exact fire adjustment needed. The gunner then just needs to adjust the angle and azimuth, and fire away.
Ukrainian soldiers speak extremely highly of Kropyva and how it lets them hit difficult targets. In July, a soldier using the nickname ‘Balu’ described using it to knock out three well-dug-in BMP armored vehicles which had proved impossible to take out by direct fire from guided missiles. A drone located the targets, and with the aid of Kropyva a tank knocked them out one by one.
This is not a ‘one shot kill’ approach. In the case of the latest video the Ukrainians say that it took them 20 rounds to finish the target from extreme range. But there was nothing the Russians could do: they would have had no idea where the fire was coming from, and the crew probably abandoned their vehicle after the first hit. Russian tanks are prone to explode, so baling out when hit is a smart move.
Kropyva is not just for individual gunners but allows whole networks of drones, artillery and other ... [+]
The new long-range kill claim cannot be confirmed. The record was previously held by a British Challenger 1 crew from the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards who destroyed an Iraqi tank at over 4700 meters (3 miles) with direct fire during the Gulf War. (Some sources put it at 5,100 meters). This was scored with a high-velocity armor-piercing round rather than the high-explosive rounds used by the Ukrainian gunner, who still managed to double the record.
While Kropyva is certainly impressive, it is not clear how well it is automated and integrated with other systems, and how easily data flows when several weapons are involved. In the next generation, data may flow seamlessly from multiple drones to multiple tank aiming system, and in theory moving tank units could engage moving targets in a complex choreography carried out entirely beyond visual range.
Previously tank warfare was a matter of face-to-face engagements. While the use of drones to guide missiles beyond visual range has been demonstrated, there has been little interest in this approach. Tank designers put a lot of emphasis on having the best frontal armor and the most powerful gun for maximum armor penetration.
But if the war in Ukraine is an indicator, future tank combat may be conducted at much longer ranges. Frontal armor gives little protection from shells raining down from above, and super-high-velocity guns may not provide much of an edge. The side with the best scout drone fleet coverage – and the best software – may have a decisive advantage.
Consumer drones, cheap tablets and crowdfunded software are already producing spectacular results that ought to be worrying Russia. Unlike Ukraine, Russian tank units do not have their own drones for guiding indirect fire, or the hardware and software to do it. Neither does the U.S. or other Western powers. Expect some rapid acquisition programs soon.
