Analysis : Armour is no longer a priority for modern warfare special ops.

In areas where drones have become commonplace, combat tactics have significantly changed. In the vast majority of cases, infantry are forced to move short distances from one shelter to another and to avoid open spaces. Based on public sources, it is known that soldiers on both sides of the front in Ukraine are dying from strikes by kamikaze drones in a field or in a sparse forest belt.
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Russian VDV posing with new operational vehicle (Picture source: Russian MoD)

Much less common in urban areas, where it is much easier for a fighter to hide, and where the FPV operator simply doesn't have the time to search for the target. The average operating time of kamikaze drones' batteries does not exceed 15 minutes, which seriously limits the duration of the hunt. A partial solution has been to implement troop movements, but today drones are now equipped with night vision and infrared cameras.

In conditions of total FPV drone dominance, ground forces have very little chance of remaining combat-ready. The saturation of kamikaze drones allows for the use of two or three drones per person, not counting military equipment and vehicles. This massive use of FPVs creates a No Man's Land, where only drones can operate, and the presence of a soldier is highly risky.

One considered solution has been to encase all vehicles, from the simple UAZ (a light transport vehicle) to the T-90 tank, in a kind of cage. This decision is forced and not always justified. On both sides of the front, potential armored vehicles are on the list of priority targets. Neither Russia nor Ukraine will spare even a dozen drones, or more, for tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. If the attackers approach the target correctly, neither grills, electronic warfare, nor additional elements of dynamic defense will help the target.

This has given rise to the idea of completely depriving the vehicle of armor and making it so fast and cheap that the FPV operator will have difficulty maintaining pursuit over a long time.

Desertcross 1000-3 buggies built in China, in service in Russia (Picture source: Aodes)

Motorcycles and buggies as a low-cost solution to drones?

Between 2022-2023, at the beginning of the large-scale invasion, artillery was the main danger to forces, saturating the space with shrapnel that was extremely dangerous to unprotected troops. But today, shells are rarer due to shortages. FPV drones have replaced these shells with new constraints. The FPV, whatever the technology, constitutes a quite unique threat.

On the one hand, a shaped charge is guaranteed to penetrate any armor of any tank in the world, simply because it attacks weaker areas.

This is how motorcycles, ATVs, and Desertcross 1000-3 buggies swept in from China appeared in the Northern Military Region.

The advantages of such equipment are numerous. Their small size can, to a certain extent, hide vehicles from reconnaissance drones and attack drones, and their high speed makes them more difficult to defeat. In some areas of the front, where there is a shortage of FPVs, higher value targets are chosen.

The motorcycle presents another unexpected advantage: it is less likely to hit mines. The wheels are smaller and the tread width is narrower. Surprisingly, light, unarmored vehicles have begun to be widely used to attack Ukrainian positions. It is not infantry fighting vehicles and tanks that lead the assault, but motorcycles and buggies! Specifically, tanks are used, but they operate at a safe distance and only cover attack planes with large-caliber fire.

Speed and maneuverability have become the main guarantee of survival. Armor has become secondary. This even applies to artillery and all other equipment.

At the same time, the Russians are forced to maintain significant armor, as with recent deliveries and authorizations, Ukraine is now able to strike deep into the land with high-velocity and highly explosive ammunition. In no case can the total armoring of the rear equipment of the Russian army be discarded.