Since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, pictures of destroyed Russian tanks with their turrets blown off have become common.
CNN reported that experts say that Russian tanks have a design flaw that makes them vulnerable to being decapitated by Ukrainian attacks.
Russian tanks have up to 40 shells in their turrets, which means that an indirect hit can cause the entire store to explode.
Sam Bendett, an adviser with the Russia Studies Program at CNA, told CNN that what we are seeing with Russian tanks is a design flaw.
Any successful hit quickly ignites the ammo causing a massive explosion, and the turret is literally blown off.
There is a video that shows a Russian tank turret that landed on the fifth floor of an apartment building in Mariupol.
—🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) April 21, 2022
A turret is on the second floor of a house.
—Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) April 3, 2022
Steven Zaloga, an expert on Russian and Soviet armor, told military publication Task and Purpose that the issue is particularly prevalent in Russian-made T-72 and T-80 tanks because they have autoloading mechanisms that typically store about 20 rounds when fully loaded.
The volume of Russian tanks is smaller than Western ones.
Zaloga told the outlet that if you get a penetration to the interior of the tank there is a high chance you will hit something.
Many Russian-made T-72 tanks used by Iraq during the Gulf wars in 1991 and 2003 were similarly decapitated.
Many of the tanks in Ukraine feature design flaws that are similar to those in Iraq, according to a defense industry analyst.
The flaw means the Russian tank crews are sitting ducks.
He said that if you don't get out within the first second, you're toast.
The newer Russian T-80 and T-90 tanks were vulnerable to the same fate despite having upgraded armor.
The BMD-4 infantry fighting vehicle, which is operated by a crew of three and can carry another five soldiers, is affected by the issue.
When the vehicle was hit by a rocket, it was destroyed, according to Drummond.
Over 280 Russian tanks have been damaged, abandoned, or captured, as of April 29, according to Oryx, an open-source intelligence monitoring website.
The site only includes destroyed tanks of which photo or video evidence is available, so the true figure is likely to be much higher.
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said on Monday that Russia had lost as many as 580 tanks.
According to the latest statistics published by the Ukrainian Land Force, 873 Russian tanks have been destroyed.
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