Military — 2026-09-30

Syrskyi Reports Ukrainian Active Protection Systems Intercept 60 to 80 Percent of FPV Drones in Testing

BLUFNeither Ukraine nor Russia can restore armor to offensive relevance through active protection until these systems survive sustained saturation attacks, a capability neither has demonstrated.

Former Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said at a discussion held by LB.ua and EFI Group that recent Ukrainian active protection systems for armored vehicles downed 60 to 80 percent of FPV drones 1. The LB.ua report does not specify test conditions or the systems involved 1. Syrskyi said drones currently prevail in the contest between attack and defense, that Russia is also developing such systems and has had some success, and that armor will regain relevance once the systems mature 12. Militarnyi reported that Russia first fielded a T-72B3A with a modified Arena-M in July, and that Ukrainian drones destroyed it after seven drones exhausted its countermeasure ammunition and 15 to 20 FPVs were expended in total 3.

Analysis
Neither side has active protection capable of restoring armor to offensive use at scale, since Syrskyi himself concedes drones still hold the advantage. The 60 to 80 percent intercept figure rests on a single LB.ua report, and the other outlets only repeat it. It carries no stated test conditions, threat density, or system identity, so it cannot be treated as a combat-validated rate. Russia's July Arena-M tank fell to 15 to 20 FPVs once seven drones drained its countermeasures, showing that saturation still defeats these systems. The claim may instead be signaling meant to revive armor procurement, which has stalled this year. Ukrainian orders for specific systems and additional Russian Arena-M fielding would indicate real capability.

4 sources