Y'all ever seen the tank rc battles?
Not sure how all that works but saw a video on it a year or so ago and it looked pretty cool.
They have a big battle at the tank museum in VA. When I built the Abrams it had an option for the sensor that mounts on top. The infrared light is mounted where the machine gun normally goes or on some models an external firing module is mounted. When your tank is "hit" the red lights on the sensor go off. After a few hits your tank is disabled.
Rc 1/16 Tank Led Battle System none / Tamiya USA