Syrian tanks now sport anti-drone defense strikingly similar to Ukrainian design

Defense Express reported the information.

Corresponding footage appeared on social media. The circulated videos show a column of armored vehicles belonging to Syria's army, under control of the new government following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime. Besides tanks, there were also infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) in the column, though they lacked any anti-drone countermeasures.

According to military analysts, the Ukrainian anti-drone "hood" is considered one of the most successful solutions of its type, as it covers vulnerable areas of armored vehicles while hardly limiting their combat capabilities. The design also folds easily, which simplifies operation.

"Even the Russians acknowledged in their own research that the Ukrainian development is very good," Defense Express noted.

Similar solutions were previously used in China, though these mainly involved patented developments rather than complete reproduction of the Ukrainian design.

"In contrast, in Syria we see exactly the same protection as on Ukrainian armored vehicles, practically identical, which can be considered further confirmation of how excellent this development is. However, the question remains of how they managed to copy it so accurately," the report states.

Experts suggest that the most likely source for copying was open-source materials on the internet, where footage of Ukrainian armored vehicles with such protection has been published repeatedly.

"Overall, we don't have precise information about the origin of these systems in Syria, but we see that ideas and developments from Ukraine are being actively used in other countries as well. And there may only be more such cases over time, but with adjustments for local specifics, such as with the drone protection for CAESAR self-propelled howitzers," Defense Express concluded.

• Previously, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko reported that more than half of the weapons currently used by Ukraine's Defense Forces are manufactured at Ukrainian enterprises.