[War & Business] Ukraine War Signals the End of the "Era of Tanks"

The global defense industry is in turmoil as the Ukrainian military announced it will exclude the US-supported Abrams tanks, known as the most powerful tanks in existence, from the front lines. The Abrams tanks have become useless as Russian forces overwhelm tank units with a massive number of low-cost drones purchased from Iran and North Korea.

On the 27th (local time), a Ukrainian tank captured by Russian forces is being transported to Moscow for exhibition purposes. Moscow=TASS·Yonhap News

The Ukrainian front line has already transformed into a battlefield where tanks find it difficult to move due to drone skirmishes. Citing a US Department of Defense official, the Associated Press noted, "This means there is no longer any ground space where tanks can attack or pass through the front line without being detected by the enemy."

In response to the Ukrainian military, which mainly relies on advanced weapons and quality under US and Western support, Russia is launching offensives with overwhelming quantity. The Ukrainian forces, which had maintained effective defense using the Starlink satellite communication system and the AI algorithm-based automatic targeting attack system supported by the US military, are now rendered ineffective against Russia’s massive low-cost drone offensive.

Russia is employing a tactic of deploying thousands of drones simultaneously to the front line to disrupt AI and communication equipment, as well as using suicide drones. These drones continuously swarm the skies, overwhelming the AI systems with too many targets. Even slight tank movements are detected by small reconnaissance drones, which relay information to Russian forces, leading to immediate destruction by suicide drones or fighter jet bombings. Tanks that should break through the front line cannot even move, turning into nothing more than scrap metal.

While early in the war, news of Russia losing large numbers of tanks due to strategic failures was common, recently the rate at which Ukrainian tanks are lost has accelerated. Since the outbreak of the war, Russia has lost about 2,900 tanks, while nearly 800 Ukrainian tanks have been destroyed. Of the 31 Abrams tanks provided by the US, 5 have already been lost.

This is a huge loss for Ukraine, which is already facing reduced Western support. An Abrams tank costs about $10 million (approximately 13.8 billion KRW) per unit. In contrast, the Russian suicide drones intercepting these tanks cost around $20,000 including the warhead capable of penetrating tank armor. From the Russian military’s perspective, this literally results in a cost-effectiveness ratio of 500 to 1.

Another advantage of these highly cost-effective drones is that they do not require a separate launch base. For small drones, dozens can be launched from a single truck-mounted launcher, or soldiers can be each equipped with a launcher and one drone, allowing them to fire from anywhere along the front line. Because there are no concentrated facilities like missile bases or air defense artillery batteries, fighter jets cannot intercept them. The conventional tactic of breaking air defense networks with fighter airstrikes and then breaking through the front line with armored units no longer works easily.

The new form of drone warfare emerging in the Ukraine war presents a new challenge to countries around the world accustomed to tank, fighter jet, and missile air defense systems. The era of building and deploying conventional forces at great expense and repeating training is coming to an end. South Korea, whose army forces largely consist of tanks and mechanized units, also appears to need structural reforms to adapt to the new drone battlefield environment.