31 U.S.-Supplied Abrams Tanks Wiped Out by Russian Kamikaze Drones

Defence affairs - D.S.A

The battlefield in Ukraine has become the ultimate proving ground for new-generation warfare, where even the most sophisticated ground platforms like the Abrams are being neutralized by swarms of loitering drones costing a fraction of their value.

Speaking to CNN, defence expert and strategic analyst Christopher Kirchhoff stated that the obliteration of these tanks highlights the vulnerability of legacy armored systems in the face of modern, asymmetric threats.

“At the beginning of the war, we provided the Ukrainians with 31 Abrams tanks. Almost all of them have now been destroyed by Russian kamikaze drones,” Kirchhoff said.

“This suggests that the era of mechanized warfare, which began during the First World War, is coming to an end.”

Kirchhoff, a former consultant to the U.S. Department of Defense, has been a vocal commentator on the transformation of military doctrine—particularly the rise of unmanned systems and the obsolescence of conventional combat platforms under modern threat environments.

His remarks come at a time when the battlefield in Ukraine has become the ultimate proving ground for new-generation warfare, where even the most sophisticated ground platforms like the Abrams are being neutralized by swarms of loitering drones costing a fraction of their value.

In recent months, kamikaze drones—particularly cheap, expendable First-Person View (FPV) models—have emerged as the decisive force on both sides of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, challenging the battlefield supremacy of traditional armor.

These lightweight, agile unmanned aerial vehicles are capable of evading radar, slipping through gaps in short-range air defences, and striking from above—precisely at the weakest points of even the most heavily armored tanks.

A single drone costing as little as USD $500 has proven capable of destroying or disabling multi-million-dollar combat systems, forcing a reevaluation of military spending, doctrine, and platform survivability.

UAVs now shape movement patterns and tactical postures on the battlefield, with both Russian and Ukrainian forces adopting dispersed operations, night maneuvers, and concealment strategies to reduce exposure to top-attack threats.

“Operation Spider Web,” a recent Ukrainian drone assault on multiple Russian airbases, reportedly knocked out strategic bombers and radar stations—an operation that in earlier eras would have required advanced stealth fighters or long-range precision-guided munitions.

Military analysts now agree: drone warfare has ushered in a revolution in modern combat, with loitering munitions supplanting traditional artillery and armor as the dominant tools of battlefield disruption.

The United States announced the delivery of 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine in January 2023.

Originally, the Pentagon had planned to send the advanced M1A2 variant, but due to logistical bottlenecks and time constraints, the older yet upgraded M1A1 SA (Situational Awareness) version was selected instead.