Russia’s most advanced tank, the T-90, has been experiencing a bizarre glitch dubbed the “disco head,” where its turret spins uncontrollably under fire on the battlefield.
This fault has struck the T-90, a third-generation main battle tank hailed by President Vladimir Putin as the “best tank in the world.”
However, the tank has been embarrassed by this flaw, known as “spinning turret syndrome,” which is triggered by minor damage and renders the turret useless in combat.
A notable incident occurred in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region when Ukrainian troops in two US-supplied M2 Bradley fighting vehicles engaged a Russian T-90. Despite the T-90’s heavy frontal armor, rapid 25mm cannon fire from the Bradleys caused the turret to spin uncontrollably clockwise, preventing the Russian crew from accurately returning fire.
Footage of the event shows the turret spinning frenetically until it struck a tree, forcing the crew to abandon the tank before it was destroyed by a Ukrainian drone.
The “spinning turret syndrome” was observed again on May 10, when a T-90 was attacked by FPV kamikaze drones. After the second drone hit, the turret began spinning and continued despite the crew’s attempts to regain control until the tank halted and the engine was turned off. Recently, several abandoned T-90Ms have been destroyed by grenades dropped from Ukrainian drones.
One theory suggests that minor hits penetrate the turret and incapacitate an operator who then slumps over the controls, causing the turret to rotate clockwise.
Another theory posits that damage to the optics sends false signals to the fire control system, leading to uncontrollable spinning. A third explanation involves the tank’s laser warning receiver, which might send false signals if damaged, causing the turret to spin in response.
Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former British Army tank commander, told The Telegraph that the problem likely stems from inexperienced crews and poor electronics.
He added: ‘It’s very easy for inexperienced people to become very disoriented in a tank because a tank’s hull can move in one direction, the turret could be in another direction and the commander’s sight could be in a completely other direction, which is why we get the term ‘disco head’ because people can easily become disoriented and the tank spins out of control.
‘It could also be an electronics failure. Western tanks have a quite sophisticated fire control system, and the Russians don’t appear to have got it right’.
