Russian "barbecues" In August 2021, Ukrainian sources first reported that Russian tanks were beginning to be equipped with special grilles (nicknamed "
barbecues" or "
mangals" by Ukrainian sources) welded onto their
turrets. Tanks amassed by the
Russian military for its
invasion of Ukraine also frequently had these grilles. They were intended to protect the tank from attacks from above, which could be inflicted by Ukrainian-acquired
Javelin anti-tank missile systems and
Bayraktar TB2 combat drones. Ukrainian military media outlet Militarnyi considered their effectiveness in preventing Javelin strikes to be questionable, and noted they also hindered crew operations and increased the size of the tank's outline.
Metal lattices tank with anti-drone metal mesh in the Ukrainian 117th Heavy Mechanized Brigade With the beginning of the extremely widespread use of
multirotor drones that drop ammunition and small, cheap
barrage munitions, such as
FPV drones and Russian
Lancets by both sides of the war, there was a need to protect military equipment from such warfare. This was especially the case due to such drones frequently costing between several hundred dollars to several tens of thousands of dollars being able to destroy military equipment worth millions of dollars. One of the most common means of protection was a variety of nets and grilles to stop the fall of a
free-falling munition, cause a premature explosion of the
shaped charge of the drone, or prevent its detonation. The simplest such protection developed was a
metal net stretched over branches or a frame, not attached to the equipment and installed above firing positions or encampment. Several instances of equipment saved by simple netting during the war were reported. More complex solutions involved welding nets or cages directly to the equipment. For example, the Russian "mangals", turned out to be effective at protecting equipment from small UAVs. Later, both the Russians and Ukrainians began to actively install lightweight metal fencing on their own equipment, including
self-propelled artillery, tanks, and
multiple rocket launchers. Metal nets have also been installed on Western military equipment transferred to Ukraine, such as the
Challenger 2. To circumvent the protection of the grids, it is possible to use remote detonation of a shaped charge. For example, in November 2023 Russian Lancets were able to attack Ukrainian equipment equipped with metal netting using
lidar.
Tank sheds In April 2024, Russians began using tanks with massive superstructures that covered them almost completely from above and on the sides. Some were equipped with
electronic warfare and/or
mine trawls. Ukrainian military and media mockingly dubbed these tanks ‘
blyatmobiles’ (Блятьмобиль), ‘assault garages’ (штурмовые гаражи), and "turtle tanks", among others.
Dandelion Between November 2025 and the start of 2026 Russia started fitting some of its vehicles with Одуванчик (
oduvanchik, "dandelion") drone protection consisting of large numbers of branching glass fibre rods. == Other countries and conflicts ==