Footage of Russian personnel testing a T-72 Main Battle Tank (MBT) modified to be operated remotely was shared on Telegram. A Ukraine-based Telegram channel, DeepState, shared footage of the crew controlling the tank with remotes and VR goggles from a civilian vehicle. The controlling parallels First-Person View (FPV), often utilised by small UAVs of both sides in the Russo-Ukrainian War. Two crew members with goggles are likely the commander and driver. Gunner’s screen is seen in the video, consisting of a feed from a camera mounted on the gun mantlet. However, there are no interface assets like range display and crosshairs. Due to the T-72 featuring an autoloader for its main gun, no remote operation for the loading would be needed.
The crude equipment used and the tank being an older model hint at the platform being a prototype. The antennas for control likely have a short range for a stand-off control and susceptibility to jamming as they appear to be originally for UAV controllers.
Despite the drawbacks, this development shows Russia’s frequent tank losses to FPV drones and ATGM attacks have pushed it to pursue alternative crew survivability methods. Russia’s common strategy against UAVs mainly consists of an add-on cage or net armour on the tanks, limiting engagement and mobility.
Russia is known to have a very large stock of low-budget T-72 MBTs.
