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Russia has begun deploying upgraded T-72B3A main battle tanks equipped with the Arena-M active protection system to frontline combat units, claiming the technology can defeat one of the biggest threats on the modern battlefield – first-person-view (FPV) drones. The rollout comes as newly leaked documents suggest the system fits into a far broader Russian-Chinese effort to redesign armored warfare around active protection, artificial intelligence (AI) and drone integration. JOIN US ON TELEGRAM Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. According to Russian state-controlled outlet Izvestia, frontline crews have already begun training with the upgraded vehicles before they are assigned to assault groups attacking Ukrainian fortified positions. The announcement marks one of Russia’s strongest public claims yet that it has found an answer to the FPV drone threat that has devastated armored formations throughout more than four years of full-scale war. While independent verification of Arena-M’s battlefield performance remains unavailable, newly published documents obtained by The Insider, Der Spiegel and Le Monde suggest Moscow’s push to modernize its armored forces extends well beyond a single protection system. The leaked files describe years of previously undisclosed military cooperation with China focused on developing next-generation armored vehicles equipped with AI-driven active protection, unmanned turrets and integrated drone capabilities. Russia Builds Hardened Shelters to Shield Its Su-57 Most Advanced Jets From Ukrainian Attacks Earlier, Ukraine’s Military Intelligence (HUR) also told Kyiv Post that China and Russia have conducted regular bilateral military internships, with over 180 Russian troops trained in China in November 2025 alone and over 550 Chinese troops trained in Russia in known reports. Russia says Arena-M can defeat missiles, FPV drones Arena-M belongs to a class of vehicle defenses known as hard-kill active protection systems (APS), which differ fundamentally from conventional tank armor. Rather than relying solely on thick steel or composite armor to withstand incoming fire, a hard-kill APS attempts to destroy the threat before it reaches the vehicle. Russian media says the newest version alternates between two radar modes. The first operates at longer ranges to detect incoming anti-tank guided missiles, artillery shells and rocket-propelled grenades early enough for the system to react. The second uses a shorter-range radar profile specifically optimized to detect FPV drones – inexpensive quadcopters piloted directly into armored vehicles that have become one of the defining weapons of the war in Ukraine. Last month, Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky said that Ukraine has gained an edge over Russia in FPV drones, outproducing and deploying them at a 1.5-to-1 ratio. He added that Ukrainian drone operators struck nearly 180,000 verified targets in May and neutralized around 4,000 Shahed drones, while long-range drone units continued expanding attacks on Russian command centers and logistics hubs. Russia’s system reportedly carries 12 defensive launch tubes positioned around the turret to provide nearly 360-degree coverage against incoming threats. According to Izvestia, the upgraded system, designated T09-A6-1, completed qualification testing in 2024 before being integrated into Russia’s T-72 and T-90 main battle tanks. State defense manufacturer Uralvagonzavod later confirmed that newly produced vehicles were already leaving assembly lines with Arena-M installed. Russian analysts hail major battlefield upgrade Russian military analysts interviewed by Izvestia portrayed Arena-M as one of the most significant upgrades to Russian armored vehicles since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Military analyst Yuri Lyamin argued that the deployment itself mattered more than demonstrations at military exhibitions. “It is important that tanks with the active protection system arrived specifically at units carrying out combat missions, not put on display at exhibitions or parades,” Lyamin said. He argued that FPV drones have replaced anti-tank missiles as the primary danger facing armored vehicles. “Right now the main threat to armored vehicles is small tactical drones. The ability to effectively fight them will help preserve not just the vehicles themselves, but the lives of their crews,” he added. Russian commentators also argued that Arena-M differs from foreign active protection systems because it was specifically designed to counter FPV drones rather than only missiles and anti-tank rockets. Lyamin claimed similar systems developed in Israel, China and elsewhere have yet to demonstrate proven effectiveness against FPV drones under real combat conditions. Russian experts casting doubt on Arena-M’s performance Despite the confidence expressed by Russian state media, Arena-M’s ability to defeat FPV drones has previously been questioned by Russian defense specialists. In November 2025, Russian military analyst Viktor Murakhovsky argued that the system faced fundamental technical limitations in detecting the very types of drones it is now advertised as defeating. According to comments cited by Defence Blog, the system’s radar struggled to identify small FPV drones constructed largely from radar-transparent materials such as plastic or composite components. Murakhovsky also pointed to a broader problem affecting conventional radar technology. While radar systems are highly effective at detecting fast-moving missiles or aircraft using Doppler processing, they perform far less reliably against drones flying slowly, erratically and close to the ground – precisely the flight profile typically used by FPV operators approaching armored vehicles. “The radar has not yet achieved this level of detection,” Murakhovsky reportedly said when discussing the challenge posed by small drones. Leaked documents show potential Chinese involvement The timing of Arena-M’s deployment coincides with revelations published this week by The Insider, Der Spiegel and Le Monde, which exposed an extensive, previously undisclosed Russian-Chinese military cooperation program spanning air defense, AI, drones and armored vehicles. The investigation is based on confidential presentations and working documents exchanged during a series of closed Russian-Chinese military-technical forums beginning in 2023. Among the documents is a presentation delivered by Chen Wang of the China North Vehicle Research Institute examining how the war in Ukraine has transformed armored warfare. Rather than focusing solely on Russian equipment, the presentation analyzes battlefield losses suffered by both Russian and Western-designed vehicles, including those destroyed by Javelin anti-tank missiles, NLAW systems, HIMARS strikes, Bayraktar TB2 drones and Switchblade 600 loitering munitions. The presentation concludes that future armored vehicles will require a fundamentally different design philosophy centered on active protection, automation and artificial intelligence. Instead of relying on thicker armor, the proposed next-generation platform incorporates AI-driven active protection systems, unmanned turrets and integrated drone swarms capable of extending the vehicle’s situational awareness beyond the crew’s direct line of sight. China’s technology, Russia’s battlefield experience According to the documents, China would contribute semiconductors, AI, sensors and advanced electronics while Russia provides what Beijing lacks: years of combat experience gathered during the largest land war in Europe since World War II. The presentations repeatedly describe Ukraine as a real-world laboratory where new military technologies can be evaluated under combat conditions before entering wider production. The documents also acknowledge that Western sanctions have complicated access to advanced components, recommending that China and Russia combine their industrial supply chains to overcome shortages of microchips, electronics and raw materials. According to the presentations, the two countries should “break bottlenecks” by leveraging China’s manufacturing capacity and Russia’s access to strategic resources. Military experts interviewed by The Insider described the arrangement as mutually beneficial. “The most interesting thing about these slides is that it’s the Chinese seeking Russia’s help,” a former US Air Force officer told the publication. “Usually it’s the other way around.” The same investigation also outlined a Chinese presentation on Chinese-Russian proposals to defeat the US’s Starlink satellite communication platform. You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter