The armored long-lived PT-76 continues its service in the land forces and Marines of Indonesia. The first batch of Soviet light tanks was delivered to the armed forces of the state in 1962. According to various sources, less than a hundred such machines have been received in total.
To this day, a dozen and a half have survived in the ground forces and fifty-five in the Navy Marine Corps.
Judging by the photos that appear quite often on the Web, the "seventy-sixth" crews continue to be maintained in a state of combat readiness. It can be noticed that a new sight with a laser rangefinder and a passive night channel is installed on the roof of the tower on the left side.
The old rifled 76-mm D-56T gun has been replaced with a more modern 90-mm Cockerill Mk.III A-2 gun of Belgian production. He has a direct shot range of 2,200 meters. The maximum distance of the affected targets can reach 6000 meters. Ammunition decreased from 40 to 36 shells. The machine gun was replaced with a 7.62 mm FN GPMG of Belgian production.
Instead of the 240-horsepower B-6, an American two-stroke DDA V-92 T Turbo Charge with a capacity of 290 hp was used. As a result, the speed on the highway increased from 44 km/h to 58 km/h, and on dirt roads - from 25 to 35 km/h.
Last year, it became known about a possible new modernization, which Ukrainian specialists were supposed to join. For example, it is supposed to install an automatic loader of a 90-mm gun, the use of anti-tank guided missiles launched through the barrel. Mobility characteristics will be improved by an engine with a capacity of 400 hp. It was also reported about the installation of an active protection complex "Zaslon-L". However, there is still no information about the beginning of any specific work in this direction.
Alexey Moiseev
