A Ukrainian serviceman with an FGM-148 Javelin, a US-made portable anti-tank missile, near Kharkiv on March 23, 2022. AFP
A Ukrainian serviceman with an FGM-148 Javelin, a US-made portable anti-tank missile, near Kharkiv on March 23, 2022. AFP
A Ukrainian serviceman with an FGM-148 Javelin, a US-made portable anti-tank missile, near Kharkiv on March 23, 2022. AFP
A Ukrainian serviceman with an FGM-148 Javelin, a US-made portable anti-tank missile, near Kharkiv on March 23, 2022. AFP

How Javelin missiles penetrate Russian tank cage armour


Robert Tollast
  • English
  • Arabic

In November 2021, defence analysts noticed that Russian tanks were sporting strange cages on top of their turrets.

Unmistakably, this was “slat armour”, or cage armour, designed to deflect incoming anti-tank missiles or shells, knocking them off trajectory, crushing their fuses before they hit the tank’s main armour or detonating them before they reach the tank.

Evidently, the armour has not been effective, as shown by conflict monitors who have identified hundreds of destroyed Russian tanks, many with the cages lying idly beside the wrecks.

  • In the courtyard of their house, Vlad Tanyuk, 6, stands near the grave of his mother Ira Tanyuk, who died because of starvation and stress due to the war, on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP
    In the courtyard of their house, Vlad Tanyuk, 6, stands near the grave of his mother Ira Tanyuk, who died because of starvation and stress due to the war, on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP
  • A Ukrainian soldier walks with children passing destroyed cars due to the war against Russia, in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine. AP
    A Ukrainian soldier walks with children passing destroyed cars due to the war against Russia, in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine. AP
  • President Volodymyr Zelenskyy surveys the destruction in Bucha. AFP
    President Volodymyr Zelenskyy surveys the destruction in Bucha. AFP
  • Residential buildings damaged during fighting in the southern port city of Mariupol. Reuters
    Residential buildings damaged during fighting in the southern port city of Mariupol. Reuters
  • A bridge damaged by shelling in Bucha. EPA
    A bridge damaged by shelling in Bucha. EPA
  • A soldier stationed in Bucha, after the city was the recaptured by the Ukrainian army. EPA
    A soldier stationed in Bucha, after the city was the recaptured by the Ukrainian army. EPA
  • Chervona Voloshin kisses Varvara Statenova goodbye as she heads home to Kyiv after being housed at a shelter for displaced people in Lviv, Ukraine. Getty Images
    Chervona Voloshin kisses Varvara Statenova goodbye as she heads home to Kyiv after being housed at a shelter for displaced people in Lviv, Ukraine. Getty Images
  • Parts of a destroyed aircraft at the Antonov airport in Hostomel, outskirts of Kyiv. AP
    Parts of a destroyed aircraft at the Antonov airport in Hostomel, outskirts of Kyiv. AP
  • A Ukrainian territorial defence serviceman walks past a destroyed Russian armoured personnel carrier in the town of Borodianka, north-west of Kyiv. AFP
    A Ukrainian territorial defence serviceman walks past a destroyed Russian armoured personnel carrier in the town of Borodianka, north-west of Kyiv. AFP
  • Tanya Nedashkivska recounts how her husband Vasyl Ivanovych, who served in Ukraine’s navy, was killed by Russian soldiers, in Bucha, Ukraine. He was arrested by Russian soldiers. Tanya looked for him for days and found him in a building's basement where two bodies were lying. She recognised him by his shoes and trousers. AP
    Tanya Nedashkivska recounts how her husband Vasyl Ivanovych, who served in Ukraine’s navy, was killed by Russian soldiers, in Bucha, Ukraine. He was arrested by Russian soldiers. Tanya looked for him for days and found him in a building's basement where two bodies were lying. She recognised him by his shoes and trousers. AP
  • Damaged residential buildings in the southern port city of Mariupol. Reuters
    Damaged residential buildings in the southern port city of Mariupol. Reuters
  • Families arrive to board a train at Kramatorsk central station as they flee the eastern city, in the Donbas region. AFP
    Families arrive to board a train at Kramatorsk central station as they flee the eastern city, in the Donbas region. AFP
  • Romanian politicians listen to President Zelenskyy’s speech by video link, on a screen in the parliament in Bucharest. AP
    Romanian politicians listen to President Zelenskyy’s speech by video link, on a screen in the parliament in Bucharest. AP
  • The remains of a Russian Su-35 aircraft that was hit by the Ukrainian armed forces in Kharkiv. Reuters
    The remains of a Russian Su-35 aircraft that was hit by the Ukrainian armed forces in Kharkiv. Reuters
  • A damaged monument to Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko in the besieged city of Mariupol, southern Ukraine. Reuters
    A damaged monument to Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko in the besieged city of Mariupol, southern Ukraine. Reuters
  • A man removes a door covering the opening to an underground concrete enclosure in which bodies of civilians killed by Russian forces, residents say, were dumped as people were unable to transport them to a cemetery in Bucha, Ukraine. AP
    A man removes a door covering the opening to an underground concrete enclosure in which bodies of civilians killed by Russian forces, residents say, were dumped as people were unable to transport them to a cemetery in Bucha, Ukraine. AP
  • A Ukrainian soldier tries to convince a puppy to drink milk as residents wait for distribution of food products in Motyzhyn, Ukraine, which was until recently under the control of the Russian military. AP
    A Ukrainian soldier tries to convince a puppy to drink milk as residents wait for distribution of food products in Motyzhyn, Ukraine, which was until recently under the control of the Russian military. AP
  • The pain of war is evident as women wait for food aid in the village of Motyzhyn. AP
    The pain of war is evident as women wait for food aid in the village of Motyzhyn. AP
  • Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appears on screen during the 64th Grammy Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. AFP
    Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appears on screen during the 64th Grammy Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. AFP
  • The gutted interior of a theatre in central Mariupol, destroyed in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict. Reuters
    The gutted interior of a theatre in central Mariupol, destroyed in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict. Reuters
  • Desolation in Mariupol which has suffered intense bombardment. Reuters
    Desolation in Mariupol which has suffered intense bombardment. Reuters
  • A Ukrainian soldier walks in front of the remains of an Antonov An-225 Mriya cargo plane, the world's biggest aircraft, destroyed by Russian troops at an airfield in the city of Hostomel, in the Kyiv region. Reuters
    A Ukrainian soldier walks in front of the remains of an Antonov An-225 Mriya cargo plane, the world's biggest aircraft, destroyed by Russian troops at an airfield in the city of Hostomel, in the Kyiv region. Reuters
  • A local woman salutes Ukrainian soldiers in the Chernihiv region. Reuters
    A local woman salutes Ukrainian soldiers in the Chernihiv region. Reuters
  • A woman hugs a Ukrainian soldier after a convoy of military and aid vehicles arrived in the formerly Russian-occupied town of Bucha, near Kyiv. AP
    A woman hugs a Ukrainian soldier after a convoy of military and aid vehicles arrived in the formerly Russian-occupied town of Bucha, near Kyiv. AP
  • Smoke rises after an attack by Russian forces in Odesa. AFP
    Smoke rises after an attack by Russian forces in Odesa. AFP
  • Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presents an award to an injured Ukrainian service member at a military hospital in Kyiv. Reuters
    Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presents an award to an injured Ukrainian service member at a military hospital in Kyiv. Reuters
  • A destroyed building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. AFP
    A destroyed building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. AFP
  • People, mainly women and children, pass through the Medyka border crossing on their journey out of Ukraine and into Poland. Getty
    People, mainly women and children, pass through the Medyka border crossing on their journey out of Ukraine and into Poland. Getty

For small missile and rocket-propelled grenade warheads, analysts say this kind of cage armour has a decent chance of success and is used by militaries the world over.

But why was it placed on the tank’s roof?

The type of shoulder-launched weapons that cage armour can stop, such as the rocket-propelled grenade launcher (RPG) are typically fired horizontally at the front, back or sides of a tank.

Some modern anti-tank missiles supplied to Ukraine, such as the Javelin and Next Generation Light Anti-Tank Weapon (NLAW) are designed to explode above a tank's thin roof armour – leading some observers to think the cages were a haphazard DIY defence against this "top attack".

But this might not be the case. In December, one Russian defence analyst had observed how cage armour would not stop a modern anti-tank missile.

Dmitry Litovkin told Russia's Tass news agency that slat armour was "less effective against tandem-charge high-explosive munitions", or weapons that have two explosive charges, one to blast away defensive armour, and a bigger, main charge.

That is exactly how Javelin and NLAW missiles work, suggesting the Russians might have had another defence in mind, possibly drones with small missile warheads attacking from above, or RPGs being fired from rooftops in urban battles, a problem Russia encountered in Chechnya.

On a Russian T-72 tank, frontal armour is the equivalent of about 500mm of steel, but on the roof it is far less – as little as 30mm.

Top attack weapons

Modern anti-tank weapons such as the Javelin, which was already in service in Ukraine before the invasion, have what is called a “top attack” mode precisely for this reason – targeting thin top turret armour.

A number of analysts recently explained that the problem with these cages is that a lot of anti-tank weapons in use in Ukraine do not have a fuse in the nose – negating one of the cage’s protective methods of crushing the fuse.

The principle behind cage armour dates back to the Second World War when German tanks were fitted with “spaced armour” to destroy or deflect incoming anti-tank shells.

Arms research service Calibre Obscura describes the usual circumstances where the armour can work.

“Essentially the main thing with these cages is that they seek to replicate slat, or cage armour, which has genuine effectiveness when it comes to armoured vehicles, as it has the ability to disrupt some (but not all) RPG variants, such as the PG-7V and reduce the likelihood of a successful hit,” according to Calibre Obscura.

US forces briefly experimented with cage armour during the Vietnam war but decided it limited vehicle mobility because of its bulk and weight.

Lightweight cage armour variants, including aluminium armour, were later used by coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Why the cages can't stop Javelins

In the late 1980s, modern anti-tank weapons were developed to target tank turret roofs.

Some Russian tanks subsequently have explosive armour on their roofs to deflect missiles, but modern anti-tank weapons have a "tandem charge" that explodes to detonate the armour, before the more powerful main warhead detonates.

For the main warhead, missiles such as the Javelin and the NLAW use what is known as a shaped explosive charge which concentrates explosive power to defeat armour.

Test videos of American Tow missiles in top attack mode against Soviet era T-72 tanks show the missile exploding far above the tank’s roof – well above the height of any cage.

Sensors in the missile know exactly when it is flying over the target.

The Tow missile explodes several metres above the T-72, causing a catastrophic explosion. Similarly, the top attack mode of the NLAW and the Javelin have a proximity fuse, meaning that it does not have to make contact with cage armour before detonating.

In both cases, a jet of superheated metal is directed into the tank – capable of penetrating hundreds of millimetres of steel. Any cage therefore, would be rendered useless.

Calibre Obscura believes that even in cases where the slat armour could be useful, perhaps against small "kamikaze drones" or small munitions fired or dropped from drones, the DIY nature of the Russian cages could still be a fatal flaw.

Quality engineering "does not apply to the 'cope cage'," the group wrote, using a popular online term for the armour.

"The 'grill' appears to be less dense than proper cage armour and constructed from random household materials in some cases."

The US recently sent Ukraine Switchblade 600 loitering munitions, or "kamikaze drones", which can be used to attack the roofs of tanks, although there is no evidence they have been used in the conflict so far.

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Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
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How will Gen Alpha invest?

Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.

“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.

Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.

He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.

Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”

Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption. 

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks. 

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes. 

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion. 

8. Pillar 2 implementation 

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations. 

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity. 

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Updated: April 07, 2022, 10:05 AM