Russian Tanks Change Battlefield Tactics as Drone Attacks Dominate Fighting in Ukraine.

Russian tank crews from the Vostok grouping have outlined a paired maneuver tactic near Sladkoye, combining overwatch fire, short forward dashes, and continuous drone correction, according to Russia’s Ministry of Defense. The approach highlights how armored units are adapting to survive in a battlefield dominated by UAV reconnaissance and FPV strike drones.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said on 21 December 2025 that tank crews operating near Sladkoye have begun using a paired maneuver technique intended to reduce vulnerability to drone-directed fires. Outlined on the ministry’s official Telegram channel, the method divides roles between two tanks, one providing overwatch fire from depth while the second advances in short, aggressive bursts to deliver direct fire before quickly disengaging and repositioning. The tactic reflects mounting concern within Russian armored units over prolonged exposure in areas saturated with UAV reconnaissance, FPV strike drones, and rapidly cued indirect fires. The same concept was later reinforced by state defense conglomerate Rostec, which presented it as evidence of how Russian armor is adapting to preserve assault and breakthrough relevance under constant aerial surveillance. Rostec argued that pairing tanks with dedicated drone support helps compress engagement timelines, reduce predictable movement patterns, and improve responsiveness to emerging threats, signaling a shift toward armor operating as tightly managed elements within a continuous drone-enabled warning and surveillance framework.
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Russian tanks operate in coordinated pairs supported by real-time drone reconnaissance, using short forward dashes and overwatch fire to reduce exposure to FPV drones and modern anti-tank threats while maintaining direct-fire pressure on the battlefield (Picture source: Rostec).

The core of the method is simple, but it is designed around one brutal reality of the Ukraine battlefield: a tank that lingers is a tank that gets mapped, bracketed, and hunted. In the MoD description, one vehicle covers the sector with fire from the depths, acting as an overwatch shooter, while the second tank moves forward in sharp bursts to deliver direct fire, then immediately withdraws to reload and change direction. Operators are tasked to adjust impacts, cue fresh targets as defenses shift, and provide early warning when FPV teams, anti-tank guided missiles, or artillery observers begin to set up.

This tactic leans on the fact that Russia’s current transition tank fleet still offers heavy, flexible direct-fire power even when the battlefield is saturated with sensors. Rostec explicitly pointed to the T-90M Proryv, the upgraded T-80BVM, and the T-72B3M as the modernized platforms receiving rapid protection and onboard-system changes based on combat feedback. These tanks retain the familiar 125 mm smoothbore main gun architecture and coaxial machine gun suite, with the T-90M also featuring a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun on a remotely operated mount. In practical terms, this keeps the ammunition mix that matters for assault support: high-explosive fragmentation rounds for fieldworks and infantry positions, anti-armor rounds for enemy vehicles, and in some configurations, the option to launch gun-fired guided missiles from the 125 mm system family.

What changes with drone-enabled pairing is not the gun, but the tempo and the geometry of exposure. The rear tank can fire from partial defilade or from positions selected for survivability, while the forward tank performs a brief fire raid at close range where optics, stabilization, and point-target engagement are strongest. The drone feed reduces the time spent searching through periscopes and thermal sights, and shortens the kill chain from detection to first round on target. That matters against modern threats that punish hesitation: FPV drones attacking from above or from oblique angles, top-attack anti-tank weapons, loitering munitions, and artillery directed by quadcopters.

Russian industry statements suggest protection upgrades are being treated as inseparable from the new drill. In recent Rostec channel reporting about T-90M deliveries, Uralvagonzavod described tanks being fitted with anti-FPV nets and additional rubber-reinforced protection around vulnerable rear areas, alongside broader improvements to fire control and electronic warfare equipment. These add-ons aim to complicate the most common defeat mechanisms seen in drone footage: roof and engine-deck hits, and close-in attacks that exploit thin rear arcs during maneuver.

Rostec’s longer-term argument is that the decisive improvement is integration, not a single armor kit. The corporation framed future armored fists as nodes inside a combined system linking automated command-and-control, multiple UAV classes, artillery, electronic warfare, air defense, engineers, and anti-tank elements, to neutralize a portion of anti-tank threats before the assault phase begins. In that logic, the tank pair is a visible frontline expression of a wider trend: armor operating under a drone umbrella rather than charging ahead as the primary scout.

Independent verification of battlefield effect remains difficult, but the tactical intent is clear. By splitting roles, compressing exposure time, and using drones as both spotters and threat sentries, Russian units are attempting to restore some shock value to armored direct fire while reducing vulnerability to FPV ambushes and rapidly cued anti-tank fires. The tradeoff is dependence on drones and the communications links that enable them, which are themselves targets for electronic warfare and counter-UAV fires. Still, as both Moscow’s official messaging and industrial commentary now emphasize, the tank’s survival on today’s front appears less about thicker armor alone, and more about learning to fight as a fast-moving, drone-coached element inside a wider sensor-and-shooter network.