The Russians come up with a new anti-drone “shield” for armored vehicles. What the Ukrainian army could soon encounter on the front

Russia's military engineers have also pulled out of the drawer an improvisation designed to withstand Ukrainian drones: a protection system dubbed “Dandelion”, presented by the pro-Kremlin publication Readovka as the next big step in the survival of Russian technology on the battlefield.

The Russians ditched metal and switched to fiberglass to protect tanks from drones

The new structure is presented as an evolution of the famous “hedgehogs” — those constructions welded to tanks, with metal rods pointing in all directions. Only this time, the Russians ditched the metal and went for… fiberglass. The system consists of lightweight, flexible modules, reminiscent of a giant dandelion, with elastic “petals” that can be quickly mounted on tanks or other armored vehicles.

According to the description, flexibility is central: the armored vehicles could pass through buildings, trees or other obstacles without the structure breaking or leaving vulnerable areas exposed. And the fiberglass rods would be strong enough to hold an FPV drone without adding too much weight to the vehicle — an important detail for maneuverability.

Readovka insists that the “Dandelion” is an absolute novelty and has not been seen on the front before. But the Russian press suggests that it is only a matter of time before these modules reach the facilities in Ukraine.

The Ukrainians have already encountered the “previous generation” of these improvisations: if at first the Russians mounted grills on tanks — the famous “barbecues” — in recent months they switched to “hedgehogs” with spikes chaotically welded to armored vehicles. “Dandelion” seems like the next logical step in the evolution of Russian defensive DIY: lighter, more flexible, but with the same clear stake — survival in a war increasingly dominated by drones.