Arena-M, Russia’s active protection system advances

Russia appears to be making progress towards fielding its Arena-M active protection system (APS) with several appearances on social media and manufacturer announcements. If successfully fielded at scale, this system would significantly increase the survivability of Russian tanks deployed to Ukraine. 

The latest development is a video released by Rosoboronexport,Russia’s state-backed arms export agency, on or shortly before the 29th of March.  The video shows a top-attack intercept where the intercepted missile appears to approach the host tank from a high angle, as opposed to the horizontal approaches of previous Arena-M videos. 

This suggests that the system is capable of defending tanks against some of the West’s more capable anti-tank guided missiles like the FGM-148 Javelin and NLAW, seemingly confirming claims made by Rostec’s director in 2023. 

A representative of Uralvagonzavod told TASS that T-72s and T-90Ms were in the process of being fitted with Arena-M in February during the IDEX exhibition. Then, in mid-March, a lone photo on Telegram appears to show a T-72B3M fitted with Arena-M and deployed to Ukraine. 

The February 2024 statement is not the first, however, with Uralvagonzavod representatives assuring Ria Novosti that T-90M and T-80BVMs would soon be fitted with the system in early 2023. 

This may have been for test purposes, as there are many systems that need to be proven on an APS, including the sensors (typically radar) and fire control system. Typically, it is necessary to test the radar’s ability to pick up small targets, which can be done with 30 mm rounds, for example. 

In February 2024, Russia’s defence minister at the time, Sergei Shoigu, visited the designer of the Arena-M where he was informed that the system was being updated to account for loitering munitions. It was not made clear if this development included the first-person view (FPV) drone, however, an APS may be able to account for those types of threat through software adjustments. That same month, Russian news outlets reported that it had been submitted for qualification tests. 

Tech profile: Arena-M

Arena-M is designed by the Design Bureau of Machine Building in Kolomna, it consists of 12 silos that carry explosive interceptors and an array of radars for threat detection. The interceptor reportedly includes an explosive charge with a pre-fragmented panel that fires fragmentation into the path of an incoming missile. The system works, like most APS, by detecting a threat in close proximity to the vehicle and determining whether an interception is appropriate. Once a missile is considered a threat, the explosive interceptor is launched into the expected flight path of the missile and detonated to destroy it. The magazine depth of the system likely enables multiple interceptions against simultaneous attempts to engage the vehicle. 

Calibre comment

It appears that Russia’s defence industry is gaining momentum that could lead to the Arena-M entering widespread service. If new-build vehicles leaving the Uralvagonzavod factory are equipped with the system, then it could enhance the survivability of Russian tanks quite significantly. However, it is worth noting that this will depend in part on the quantity of vehicles fitted with the system as well as the ability of Russia’s defence industry to keep up with the interceptors fitted to them. It also will not account for the minefields that are a significant component of Ukraine’s defensive operations, serving to immobilise and slow vehicles down, allowing FPV strikes to destroy them. 

By Sam Cranny-Evans, published on 31st March, 2025.