Ukraine got America's top tank without the latest and greatest armor upgrades, which are 'top secret,' but it's adding its own

• Ukraine is adding protective coverings to US-donated Abrams tanks to counter Russia.
• The 31 Abrams tanks it received came without the most advanced armor.
• Ukraine's new shields aim to protect against drones and artillery in this intense conflict.

Ukraine is adding more protection to its US-provided Abrams tanks as it tries to fight back against Russia. These are top tanks, but they came without the top armor upgrades.

The US started sending Abrams tanks to Ukraine in fall 2023, and altogether it has sent 31 of them. These tanks are considered the best in Ukraine and among the best in the world, but Ukraine didn't receive the newest version with all the best bells and whistles.

The US, for example, sent the tanks without their most capable armor upgrades. The tanks were older variants, and also the US, per policy requirements, downgrades export models to protect its sensitive technology.

In a brutal war in which combat vehicles are often the target of artillery and drones, among other threats, Ukraine's tanks need all the protection they can get, though. So Ukraine is now beefing up the Abrams and other American vehicles with extra armor to boost survivability.

Nicholas Drummond, a former British Army officer who now works as a land warfare analyst, told Business Insider "the depleted-uranium armor the Americans use is top secret, and the last thing they want is that falling into Russian hands." But without top armor, Ukraine needs to come up with its own solutions, he said.

Designing new protection

The tanks that Ukraine received from Western allies, as well as its arsenal of Soviet tanks, have repeatedly been seen with new types of armor added on, specifically cage armor.

A Ukrainian company has made new protective shields for the Abrams and for Bradley infantry fighting vehicles.

Col. Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former commander for the UK's Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear forces, described these innovations to BI as "very, very simple, but actually quite effective."

He described the add-ons as necessary because "the Americans took off some of the secret armor," a change which makes "them more vulnerable to direct fire."

It's unclear how effective the more advanced armor would be against the mass use of exploding drones, but the greater protection would still aid Ukraine against the proliferation of different Russian threats facing armor on the battlefield.

The US' own Abrams tanks have composite armor that includes depleted uranium, an often misunderstood material that is also used in tank rounds. The details of the armor are kept secret.

Three people with knowledge of the plans told Politico in January 2023, months before the tanks were sent, that the US planned to send the newer M1A2 Abrams but with the secretive depleted-uranium armor removed. The US removes the armor from any of the tanks it exports to allies and partners, the report said.

Ukraine's military also said that was the plan, that the depleted uranium in the M1A2 Abrams' composite armor would be replaced by conventional armored steel.

But the plans changed. The US decided instead to send older M1A1s, as they could get to Ukraine faster. Pentagon Press Secretary Pat Ryder said the excess hulls the US already had would be refurbished and refitted to create M1A1s able to be sent to Ukraine. These older tanks lack the top armor upgrades.

When asked about the tanks, Pentagon spokesperson Lt. Col. Charlie Dietz told BI that the Department of Defense "can't provide the specifics on the details but can confirm that they were the export variants." That confirmation indicates that the armor on the Abrams tanks, among certain other things, was downgraded prior to delivery.

A different type of war

This war is a particularly intense conflict and different from ones the West has fought, with drones being used more than in any other conflict in history and a huge amount of missiles and artillery in play. Combat vehicles of all types have struggled.

Some Ukrainian soldiers have said the armor the Abrams tanks came with "is not sufficient for this moment" with so many drones attacking from above. Drones have been used to damage and destroy tanks, as well as to guide other weaponry to hit the vehicles.

De Bretton-Gordon said a lot of Ukraine's additions "are very much focused on the drones because the mass use of drones is something that is new to this conflict."

Innovations like cage armor are seen as necessary considering that on many Western and Russian tanks, even with newer armor upgrades, the protection on the top is much thinner than elsewhere on the body of the tank, which Ukraine often strengthens with reactive armor additions to provide an extra defensive layer.

"Nobody really expected attack from above, which is why they're so vulnerable," De Bretton-Gordon said. The Abrams was notably designed and built to fight Soviet tanks, not dodge airborne threats, and the tank gained a lot of its reputation in battles with air cover.

He said that where tanks are vulnerable has now changed, with drones able to attack directly or drop devices like hand grenades onto them — something that has caused Russian tanks to explode, often by causing the ammunition inside to cook off. Western tanks like the American Abrams have a better design to prevent that, but the vehicles still have vulnerabilities.

Tanks in this war also face the threat of artillery and anti-tank guided missiles, making the battlespace more dangerous for tanks.

Drummond said "the Russians are equipped with a lot of anti-tank weapons and in the assault on an enemy position, you're going to get overwhelmed with anti-tank assault, so you do need armor." Ukraine needs as much as possible.

Not enough Western tanks

He described Russia and Ukraine as being in a kind of race, as is typical in war. "As soon as somebody comes up with an advantage, somebody else will come back with a countermeasure," he said.

Both Russia and Ukraine have been modifying some of their tanks and other armored vehicles by putting cages on top. Russia's innovations have included a strange-looking structure that led to its tanks being called "turtle tanks."

This war has been a tough one for tanks. Russia had lost more than 3,000 as of February, the International Institute for Strategic Studies reported at the time. And Ukraine has lost tanks too, including at least five of its 31 Abrams.

Ukraine having so few of them, many experts say, has made things difficult for Ukraine, as it has to keep the precious few it has intact, and it doesn't have enough to mount any large armor offensives.

De Bretton-Gordon said that if Ukraine had more Abrams and Challenger tanks, "they would use them differently." But instead, "the drip feeding of kit'" to Ukraine means "they've been fighting with one hand behind their back." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksyy has lamented the limited number of Abrams.

Bradleys have been seen as more successful, even taking on Russian tanks.

At least part of the explanation may be that Ukraine has been given more, at more than 300. De Bretton-Gordon said it was key that Ukraine "has a lot of them." Ukraine has been using the vehicles as a kind of light tank.

He praised Ukrainians for being "very innovative" in coming up with ways to protect against drones while on the battlefield. He said Western militaries will be watching Ukraine to see what they might be able to learn.

Ryan Pickrell contributed to this report.