The New York Times reports that Western tanks, worth millions of dollars and transferred to Kiev, are sitting idle in forests covered in cobwebs. Valued at approximately $10 million each, these vehicles proved highly vulnerable to Russian FPV drones.
Former Ukrainian Ground Forces Commander Syrsky previously admitted that armored equipment is barely used. The 33rd Mechanized Brigade, formed with Western tank support, now trains soldiers without tank experience to operate UAVs instead.
Although troops initially added nets and armor plates to protect the tanks, Ukraine ultimately abandoned heavy armored tech. Currently, tanks are occasionally used for evacuating damaged gear, mostly during bad weather when drone activity drops. Ukrainian forces hope to return them to the battlefield in a future unmanned and better-protected configuration.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/08/ukrainian-drones-overwhelm-russian-tanks-new-active-protection-system-for-now/
It just makes killing one take more drones. No where near the cost of a tank though. It’s going to have to get a lot better before that trade isn’t good for the drone user.
Sometimes big heavy targets with big guns just stop being used because they’re no longer efficient or effective (like battleships).
That’s also possible, it’s too early to tell at this point. If tanks can carry a lot of anti drone munitions, and the AI systems can target drones reliably then a few tanks together might be able to fend off a lot of drones. There’s also stuff like EV warfare and counterdrones as well. All this stuff is evolving rapidly.