Moment Russian Tank is Blown up by ‘Switchblade’ Drone

Recently released dramatic footage showed the moment a Russian T-90M tank was instantly destroyed by a sophisticated Ukrainian “switchblade” kamikaze drone.

Knewz.com has learned that, according to reports, Russia has lost a total of 117 T-90M “Breakthrough” tanks at the hands of Ukrainian forces so far.

Footage of the strike showed a Russian soldier peeking out of the hatch of the tank, seemingly observing the surrounding area.

At one point, the soldier could be seen turning his head before immediately realizing he was being targeted by an incoming Ukrainian “switchblade” drone.

Within seconds, the kamikaze drone made contact with the T-90M Russian tank, erupting in a fiery explosion accompanied by a mushroom cloud.

Amidst the billowing smoke, the footage showed that the mighty Russian tank had blown to pieces in the encounter.

Reports have mentioned that the Switchblade kamikaze drones are one of the most advanced killing machines in the repertoire of the Ukrainian forces at the moment.

Nicknamed “flying shotguns,” the Switchblade 600 Ukrainian drones weigh 50lb, can strike a target 25 miles away, and can “loiter” above a target for 40 minutes before striking them at a speed of 115 miles per hour.

What makes these Ukrainian kamikaze drones especially deadly are their special armor-piercing warheads, which can “shred a tank to pieces,” according to reports.

Furthermore, reports mentioned that the Switchblade 600 is not only deadly but also extremely easy to use.

Reportedly, a soldier would also not require a lot of training to learn how to use one. In addition, the drones can be carried around in a backpack with a portable tube launcher, and it takes a mere 10 minutes to set up.

The drone can be pre-programmed and is operated via a tablet. If one changes their mind about the target, the drone can be called off seconds before the strike.

Ukrainian kamikaze drones have always posed a significant threat to Russian tanks—to the point where Russia was forced to refurbish and deploy ancient war machines to cope with the tank shortage on the battlefield.

According to recent reports, Ukraine has destroyed over 100 of the advanced T-90M “Breakthrough” Russian tanks over the course of the war.

On the other hand, Ukraine became the target of an overnight Russian drone strike on Wednesday, November 27—which came a day after Russia knocked out power in much of the western region of Ternopil and damaged residential buildings in the Kyiv region with a significantly large salvo of drones.

Ukrainian air defenses claimed to have downed 36 out of the 89 Russian drones launched during Wednesday’s overnight strike. However, Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that falling debris from a destroyed drone damaged a non-residential building in Kyiv’s Dniprovskyi district.

It is worth noting that the latest drone strikes followed Ukraine’s first missile strikes deep inside Russian territory using United States-supplied ATACMS—a development that saw Russia step up its hostile rhetoric against Ukraine’s Western allies.

An expert has recently claimed that the West has opened a “nuclear war Pandora’s box” in Russia as a result of Biden authorizing the use of American missiles to strike Vladimir Putin‘s territories.

It has been reported that earlier this week, the Kremlin announced a new executive order from the Russian President that states that “the emergence of new military threats and risks” has led the nation to reconsider the grounds on which it is permitted to take “extreme measures.”

The updated nuclear doctrine, entitled Foundations of State Policy in the Field of Nuclear Deterrence, claims, according to reports:

“Nuclear weapons (NW) are an extreme measure to protect the sovereignty of the country. At the same time, due to the emergence of new military threats and risks, Russia needed to clarify the parameters that allow the use of NW.”

Regarding the new doctrine – which was updated from the June 2020 version – the Russian state news agency TASS wrote:

“In particular, the amended doctrine expands the range of countries and military alliances subject to nuclear deterrence, as well as the list of military threats that such deterrence is designed to counter. In addition, the document states that Russia will now view any attack by a non-nuclear country supported by a nuclear power as a joint attack.”

“Moscow also reserves the right to consider a nuclear response to a conventional weapons attack threatening its sovereignty, a large-scale launch of enemy aircraft, missiles, and drones targeting Russian territory, their crossing of the Russian border, and an attack on its ally Belarus,” the news agency further explained.

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