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Iraq Adopts Drone Era Armor For T-90S IQ Tanks With Unit Built Cages And Side Packs.
Iraq’s Ministry of Defence says T-90S/IQ tanks from the 5th Tank Battalion, 35th Armored Brigade now carry field-installed overhead “cage” armor and reinforced side protection. The upgrade targets FPV drones and top-attack threats, signaling Iraq’s move to standardize wartime lessons seen in Ukraine.
On 25 September 2025, Iraq’s Ministry of Defence announced that T-90S/IQ tanks of the 5th Tank Battalion, 35th Armored Brigade, have been fitted with overhead cages and reinforced side protection, according to Iraqi Ground Forces and the X account @shadowh55543098. The move reflects adaptations to battlefields dominated by FPV drones and top-attack munitions, shifting survivability away from frontal armor toward protection against vertical and oblique strikes. Unlike ad-hoc fixes, Iraq is institutionalizing wartime lessons at battalion level, echoing practices seen in Ukraine. This step is significant for Iraq’s heavy forces engaged in internal security, border defense and rapid reaction missions. It underscores a pragmatic doctrine: prioritizing crew and mission protection with solutions that can be standardized and maintained.
By upgrading its T-90S/IQ tanks with turret-top cages and reinforced side armor at battalion scale, Baghdad has translated recent combat experience into a practical, replicable standard that improves crew survivability against the most common kill vectors on today’s battlefield (Picture source: x Account/@shadowh55543098)
The upgraded configuration centers on turret-spanning “cope cages” designed to disrupt the terminal placement and fuzing of kamikaze drones and to degrade the effects of top-attack charges and guided munitions. Along the hull and turret flanks, the addition of 4S24 soft-case explosive reactive armor and other pack-type modules raises resistance to shaped charges and tandem warheads while retaining mobility, turret traverse and crew egress. This is a unit-level package conceived for rapid installation, repair and replication inside brigade workshops, offering a cost-effective bridge until more complex active protection systems and sensor suites become available at scale. The visual signature of the cages and the distribution of the side packs reflect a deliberate coverage of the most common FPV ingress routes observed in contemporary conflicts, privileging function and maintainability over aesthetics.
Operationally, the 35th Armored Brigade’s path to the T-90S/IQ since the late 2010s created the conditions for such an adaptation, with crews, maintainers and logisticians already trained on Russian-origin armor and its modular protection philosophy. The development procedure evident here is iterative and field-driven: first identify the most frequent kill mechanisms encountered in recent theaters; then prioritize protective geometry for the turret roof, commander’s optics, ammunition bustle and cable runs; finally validate that the added mass does not compromise power-to-weight ratios, suspension life or turret balance. The battalion-wide rollout indicates that the Iraqi Ground Forces view this not as a one-off trial but as a standard to be replicated and refined, including through feedback loops from live-fire exercises and operational patrols.
In terms of comparative advantages inside Iraq’s mixed fleet, the upgraded T-90S/IQ gains a survivability edge in the very regimes where legacy designs have proven most vulnerable: static overwatch, convoy halts and urban perimeter tasks under persistent drone reconnaissance. Against the M1A1M Abrams in Iraqi service and older T-72 derivatives, the T-90S/IQ’s current kit demonstrates how a Russian-pattern chassis can accept overhead cages and soft-case ERA without deep structural alterations, allowing a faster, cheaper fielding cycle. Where Abrams formations worldwide are developing their own overhead protection concepts, Baghdad has implemented a ready solution today on the platform that is already the workhorse of the 35th. The result is a “good-enough” counter-FPV baseline that can be layered later with soft-kill jammers, cueing sensors and, eventually, hard-kill interceptors. The parallels with Russian frontline adaptations in Ukraine are clear: maximize coverage of the roof and flanks, accept a modest mobility penalty, and emphasize repairability with locally fabricated sections that units can replace in hours rather than weeks.
Strategically, this upgrade recalibrates Iraq’s heavy forces for a threat environment shaped by the proliferation of FPV suicide drones among both insurgent and state-aligned actors operating across the Iraq–Syria frontier. It reduces risk in counter-terrorism sweeps and border security operations where ambushes and drone-assisted fires have become more sophisticated. Geopolitically, it signals to regional observers that Baghdad is willing to absorb hard battlefield lessons and convert them into standardized protection measures, potentially catalyzing similar initiatives among neighboring land forces. Geostrategically, it buys time: with armored units expected to hold key junctions, oil infrastructure and urban approaches during crises, a relatively low-cost survivability uplift preserves combat power while the defense establishment evaluates higher-end active protection and electronic warfare investments. Militarily, it nudges doctrine toward distributed survivability, armored teams integrating physical armor, counter-drone TTPs, and electromagnetic hygiene, rather than relying solely on platform overmatch.
The message is unambiguous: Iraq has moved from observing to implementing. By upgrading its T-90S/IQ tanks with turret-top cages and reinforced side armor at battalion scale, Baghdad has translated recent combat experience into a practical, replicable standard that improves crew survivability against the most common kill vectors on today’s battlefield. This is a timely, realistic step that maintains operational momentum, preserves valuable armored assets, and sets a precedent in the region for rapid, locally achievable counter-FPV protection.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.