A rare Soviet IT-1 Dragon missile tank has resurfaced in the Ukrainian army, although it no longer serves its original combat role. The vehicle has been converted into an armored recovery machine and was recently spotted at a Ukrainian military repair unit. The unusual discovery was reported by the Povernutye na Voine channel.
The vehicle’s history can be traced back to the Lvov Armored Repair Plant, which produced a small batch of Zubr (BTS-4LBTZ) armored recovery vehicles for an African country in 2019. Those machines were built using Soviet T-55 tanks, with their original weapons replaced by equipment designed to recover and repair damaged military vehicles.
Each recovery vehicle received a boom crane, a winch, welding equipment and a bulldozer blade. A separate compartment was also provided for carrying spare parts needed during maintenance operations.
But another Zubr variant unveiled around the same time had a much more unusual origin. Early reports identified its chassis as belonging to a T-62 tank. That identification later proved incorrect. The vehicle had actually been assembled from an IT-1 Dragon, an extremely rare Soviet missile tank recovered from a military equipment storage site.
The discovery is particularly significant because of the small number of IT-1 vehicles once stationed in the Carpathian Military District. Until 1974, the district maintained a battalion equipped with 31 of these tanks. Apparently, only one vehicle from that formation survived, eventually becoming the basis for the recovery machine now used by Ukrainian forces.
The original Dragon was developed using components and mechanical systems from the T-62. However, Soviet engineers abandoned the conventional tank gun in favor of a dedicated guided-missile launcher. The IT-1 carried 15 3M7 anti-tank guided missiles, supported by an automated loading system.
Its three-man crew could engage targets while stationary or moving, giving the missile tank considerable flexibility on the battlefield. The weapon had an effective engagement range of 300 to 3,300 meters, with a stated hit probability of 90%. A 7.62mm PKT machine gun provided additional firepower.
Another distinctive feature was its heavy armor protection. Unlike anti-tank missile systems installed on lightly protected wheeled platforms, the Dragon was designed to advance alongside conventional tanks. Its armor allowed the vehicle to operate directly with armored formations during offensive operations.
The IT-1 weighed 34.5 tonnes and was powered by a 580-horsepower engine. It could reach 50 km/h on paved roads and travel up to 470 kilometers on a single fuel load.
The Soviet military officially adopted the IT-1 in 1968. Alongside the unit stationed in the Carpathian Military District, another battalion equipped with these missile tanks was established in the Belorussian Military District.
Despite proving highly reliable in service, the Dragon remained operational for a relatively short period. Organizational difficulties played a major role in its withdrawal, while advances in anti-tank missile technology further weakened the case for maintaining specialized missile tanks.
New guided weapons were being tested that could be launched directly through conventional tank gun barrels. As this technology developed, separate missile-launching vehicles such as the IT-1 became increasingly unnecessary.
Some Dragons continued serving as training vehicles for tank drivers before finally disappearing from operational units.
Decades later, one surviving example has found an entirely different purpose in the Ukrainian army. Instead of launching guided missiles, the former Dragon now serves as an armored recovery vehicle. Ukrainian forces managed to convert only one IT-1 into such a machine, which is currently stationed somewhere deep behind the front lines.