A picture circulating on the Russian Internet in early July and said to be from Uralvagonzavod seems to show a T-90M integrated with the Arena-M active protection system (APS).
If this turns out to be the case, this could be one of the clearest indications yet of Russia’s intent to deploy the latest version of its APS more widely, given that the Arena-M has a mode for interception of drones and loitering munitions, according to sources close to the programme. Manufacturer’s documents claim the system can intercept projectiles traveling at up to 1,000m/s at a range of up to 50m, which would bring it more or less level with the Israeli Trophy system – though there is scant evidence Arena-M has been subjected to equivalent levels of testing.
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In 2020 Russian officials announced the intent to field Arena-M by 2025. The invasion of Ukraine and the catastrophic losses suffered by the Russian tank fleet appear to have slowed the programme down, rather than accelerated it. Losses of the T-90M (at least 156 according to the open-source Oryx blog) have stimulated a fresh burst of activity, however. Earlier this year it was confirmed that Arena-M now has an anti-drone operating mode, though unconfirmed reports suggest its integration may be limited to a T-90M variant with a modified turret, designated T-90M2. There are suggestions that production of this variant (and therefore the scale of issue of the drone-capable version of Arena-M) may be limited for reasons unspecified but presumably to do with the effect of international sanctions and war economy pressures on industry.
Whatever the case, it appears that, even if Arena-M is now routinely installed on Russia’s more modern MBTs, a sweeping fleet-wide upgrade programme is unlikely. The system is probably as capable as the manufacturer says it is, but quantity has a quality all its own.
Headline image Uralvagonzavod via social media
