Ukraine is adding cages to another NATO tank type as it scrambles to shield its armored vehicles

A Ukrainian soldier drives a Leopard tank at an undisclosed location in eastern Ukraine in July.

Ukraine has started outfitting another NATO tank type with unusual cage armor, giving the vehicle an added layer of protection from deadly Russian threats.

Rinat Akhmetov’s Steel Front, a Ukrainian initiative, has been building and installing steel screens on the German-made Leopard main battle tank to provide added defense against inbound munitions like rockets, missiles, and exploding drones.

Germany and other NATO allies that operate the tanks have sent Ukraine dozens of Leopard 1 and newer Leopard 2 tanks, which have seen combat and are among the coveted assortment of Western-made armored vehicles that Kyiv operates on the battlefield.

Ukrainian troops fire a Leopard tank during an exercise near the front lines in eastern Ukraine in May. 

The Leopards are powerful, highly capable tanks with heavy armor, but they aren’t invincible. In fact, some open-source estimates suggest that Ukraine has already lost nearly 40 Leopards, but those estimates are unconfirmed. There have been losses, though.

Ukraine and Russia have outfitted many of their armored vehicles with metal screens throughout the war as a last-ditch defense against incoming munitions, especially from small drones loaded with explosives — cheap weapons that can deliver a precision strike on an enemy target. These drones have taken out numerous vehicles and crews.

The screens vary in design. Some are crude in appearance, jury-rigged to the armored vehicle, and hinder maneuverability and combat operations or eliminate certain advantages of the tanks, as is the case with Russia’s turtle tanks. Others look more sophisticated and are neatly applied to the exterior.

A German-made Leopard tank with protective screens at an undisclosed location.

A German-made Leopard tank with protective screens at an undisclosed location. 

The Leopard is the latest armored vehicle to be equipped with extra protection by Steel Front. The initiative has also installed steel screens on American-made M1 Abrams tanks and Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and Soviet-era tanks such as the T-64 and T-72.

A screen for a Leopard costs around $20,000, which is a fraction of the cost of the multimillion-dollar tank. The protective, net-like screens take about 12 hours to install at a Ukrainian military repair base.

The Steel Front initiative says the screens do not inhibit the Leopard’s maneuverability or combat effectiveness and are thought to increase the tank’s survivability by 30-40%. Even if the tank takes a hit in battle, the armor helps keep the crew alive, and the vehicle can then be recovered for repairs.

The increasing employment of these screens in Ukraine underscores the threats to tanks and, in particular, the significant — and growing — role that drones are playing on the battlefield. Both Ukraine and Russia have lost scores of armored vehicles, including tanks, to small drone attacks.