Russian tanks to be armed with drones as Putin builds troops on Europe’s borders

RUSSIAN tanks will be armed with drones which will be able to scan up to 10 kilometres of ground in the hunt for targets.

The machines – called Pterodactyls- will be able to circle up to 100 metres and stay in the air indefinitely.

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They will also be fitted with thermal night vision equipment and radar.

The move comes at a time when the country is building its troops on Europe's borders and follows two days of missile tests near Crimea by Ukraine.

Kremlin officials are said to be angered by the Ukrainian weapons testing and the country has put its air defence forces on high alert and deployed warships in the Black Sea.

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Russian Armata tanks will be equipped with the lightweight new technology, the reports, and it means the distance at which they can identify targets will increase.

Pravda, the Russian news site, said the drones will be able to rise 'tens of metres', and are capable of keeping up with tanks even when they are moving at high speeds.

The drones will increase the range at which tanks - which can strike objects up to eight kilometres away - can detect targets.

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Russia is reportedly deploying a massive army on the Ukrainian border amid fears of an imminent invasion which risks destabilising Eastern Europe.

Ukraine‘s Deputy Defence Minister Ihor Dolhov says a recent surge of troops now means there are 55,000 Russian soldiers ready to invade.

In 2014, Russia made several military moves into Ukrainian territory – despite condemnation from much of the world.

It snatched the strategically vital Black Sea port city of Crimea.

And Kremlin-backed Russian separatists are fighting the Ukrainian army in the breakaway republic of Donetsk People's Republic in Donbass region.

Russia also claims it has foiled a series of planned cyber attacks organised by foreign spies to target a number of its banks.

Russian intelligence agency the FSB said the servers used in the alleged hack were located in the Netherlands and registered to Ukrainian web hosting company BlazingFast.

US officials accused the Kremlin of being involved in hacks on Democratic Party emails during the presidential election campaign.

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