Reproduction: social networks 04/08/2022
Isium in Ukraine
The British Ministry of Defense estimates that Russian forces have destroyed 508 of their main battle tanks since the start of the conflict in Ukraine. According to experts, one of the reasons for the defeats of Russian troops is a design flaw in their tanks, the socalled jackinthebox effect.
The name, which refers to the children’s toy in which a clown doll detaches itself from a box, is created when explosives stored in the armored vehicle are detonated. The force of the internal explosion ejects the tank’s turret outward, killing everyone inside.
“Each successful hit quickly ignites the ammunition and causes a massive explosion and the turret is blown up,” Sam Bendett, a member of the Center for a New American Security, told the American television network.
The way ammo is stored near artillery turrets in older Russian tanks increases the likelihood of this effect.
The design problems of Russian tanks have been known since the Gulf War, when Russian vehicles used by Saddam Hussein’s troops suffered from similar problems. However, according to Bendett, the Russian design still offers some advantages, such as space savings and a lower profile, making it harder to hit.
A survey conducted by the Oryx website, using data collected using Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) techniques that only work with data from the internet, shows that as of April 28 at least 300 Russian tanks have been destroyed. Another 279 would have been damaged, abandoned or captured by Ukrainian troops.
Join the Last Second channel on Telegram and see the most important news of the day in Brazil and the world.