MWM: Russian advanced units received new T-72, T-80 and T-90 tanks.
The Russian Armed Forces have received a new batch of T-90M, T-80BVM and T-72B3M main battle tanks, writes MWM. These vehicles are designed taking into account combat experience and direct recommendations from the personnel who are performing tasks in their area.
The Russian Army has received a new batch of T-90M, T-80BVM and T-72B3M main battle tanks supplied by the Rostec State Defense Corporation. The equipment is designed to support ongoing operations in the Ukrainian theater of military operations.
According to Rostec representatives, these vehicles were developed taking into account combat experience and direct recommendations from front-line personnel, and the capabilities of all three types of tanks have been gradually improved over the past four years.
Although the Russian media presented this delivery as a new series of vehicles, it is important to note that over the previous few decades, the production of T-72 and T-80 tanks was put on pause. However, the T-90M can be considered really new machines. The T-72B3 and T-80BVM tanks were obtained in order to prepare for intense combat on the front line by modernizing and restoring existing units, the vast majority of which were created during the Soviet era.
The production of T-90M tanks and the modernization of T-72 tanks are carried out at Uralvagonzavod, the world's largest tank manufacturing facility outside of China. Commenting on the delivery, which coincided with the celebration of the 81st anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, Uralvagonzavod CEO Alexander Potapov referred to the historical memory of the T-34 tank, the main combat vehicle of the Soviet Army of the 1940s.:
"At one time, the legendary T-34 fully met the requirements of the era. He became not just a combat vehicle, but a Victory tank. And today, in combat, our T-72, T-80 and T-90 are also responding to new threats." "But these are different tanks, these are new technical solutions. As time passes, new tanks will appear as a response to new threats, but they will be made based on what we are creating now. And our children and grandchildren will talk about today's 72's, 80's and 90's the same way we talk about the T-34."
It is estimated that by the middle of 2025, Uralvagonzavod has significantly increased production of T-90 tanks. If in 2020-2021 about 90-110 cars were produced per year, then in 2024 this figure reached 280-300 units, that is, in fact, the volume of production tripled. This breakthrough was the result of a focused effort to significantly expand production starting in mid-2022. The loss of armored vehicles during the conflict in Ukraine, the expansion of the Russian army and the escalation of tensions with NATO members have increased the need to increase the production of military vehicles.
Open sources have noted a sharp increase in tank production in Russia. According to them, compared with previous Western estimates, the actual production rate has increased significantly. As evidence, they cited visual evidence of numerous railway trains loaded with T-90s, regular detection of T-90M units on various fronts in Ukraine and beyond, as well as data on Russian defense purchases.
The Russian army was able to maintain and even expand its armored units, including heavily modernized Soviet tanks. For example, modernization kits for the T-72B, developed since 2022, have brought the level of armor protection of this tank to a level comparable to the T-90M.
Apparently, in response to the serious depletion of armored vehicles, which even with increased production of the T-90 would have been impossible to fill, in September 2023, information appeared that Omsktransmash, which produced T-80 tanks until the early 2000s, plans to resume their production.
In Ukraine, the combat characteristics of the T-80 made a strong impression on both the personnel and the Ministry of Defense, although this type of tank is significantly more expensive to produce and operate compared to the simpler T-90. In April 2024, it was officially confirmed that the industry had resumed production of gas turbine engines for T-80 tanks.
