The T-90M "Breakthrough" main battle tank, the export version of which the T-90MS loudly debuted at the IDEX 2025 exhibition in Abu Dhabi, is considered by experts to be the most advanced. Numerous improvements based on the results of high-intensity battles have made it even more perfect. TASS analyzed how the armored vehicle is publicly treated abroad
The T-90MS main battle tank, installed in the center of the Russian national exposition, attracts the attention of guests of the IDEX 2025 international arms exhibition, currently taking place in the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The products of Russian gunsmiths have not missed a single IDEX since the very first one in 1993 and have always aroused great interest among potential buyers. The President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, his eldest son, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, and numerous foreign specialists got acquainted with the T-90MS. The countries of the Middle East and North Africa are already armed with T-90 family tanks: for example, Iraq has purchased a large batch of T-90S worth $ 1 billion, Algeria has acquired hundreds of combat vehicles. The number of T-90S exported is thousands of units.
All Russian military equipment demonstrated at IDEX 2025 has been improved, taking into account its use in a special military operation. The T-90MS, which is an export version of the T-90M "Breakthrough" tank, was the only one presented at the event, shown with such an "upgrade". The "Frenchman" Leclerc XLR, the South Korean K2ME, also present at the exhibition in the form of full-scale samples, have no experience of use in combat.
The T-90MS was developed and manufactured by Uralvagonzavod (part of Rostec State Corporation), and is equipped with a 125mm smoothbore cannon that allows both firing various projectiles and launching guided anti-tank missiles, hitting ground and even air targets at a range of up to 5 km. The combat vehicle has a modern sighting system, an automated fire control system, and an information system with network-centric capabilities. The tank combines relatively low weight, modular booking and high mobility thanks to a 1,130 hp turbodiesel.
The armor is not penetrated
The armored vehicles of the Russian tank building school are smaller in size and have a lower silhouette compared to Western ones, which makes it difficult to defeat them. In the latest T-90MS, much attention is paid to improving the protection of the combat vehicle from modern means of destruction — drones, guided missiles, rocket-propelled grenades. For this purpose, the armored vehicle is equipped with dynamic protection (DZ), an electronic jamming station that silences enemy drones on approach (by the way, Russian electronic warfare systems, hardened in special operations, also arouse the interest of potential customers), and anti-cumulative screens of various designs. For example, the aft part of the T-90MS is protected by lattice screens, DZ blocks, and flexible rubber sheets, preventing enemy drones from hitting the engine compartment and immobilizing the tank.
The T-90M "Breakthrough", widely used in its military, successfully withstands numerous hits from missiles and drones. For example, in one of the battles, a Russian tank was fired at by four anti-tank missiles and remained in service. In another episode, several FPV drones hit the T-90M, but they did not cause any damage: the dynamic protection units worked. A representative of Uralvagonzavod, which participates in the repair of tanks, told about a peculiar record. A "Breakthrough" arrived at the specialists for restoration, in the tower of which 26 attack drones of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) landed. At the same time, the crew of the combat vehicle remained alive. The tank returned to service, although its restoration took a whole month.
The "counteroffensive" and the problems of Western tanks
On the contrary, the Leopard 2, Challenger 2, and M1 Abrams tanks supplied by the Ukrainian Armed Forces do not even have dynamic protection, which makes them defenseless against any cumulative ammunition, not to mention modern missiles and grenades with a tandem warhead. In addition, foreign armored vehicles are noticeably heavier than the Breakthrough: the Leopard 2, transferred to Ukraine by Poland, reaches 60 tons, and the British Challenger 2 with additional armor weighs 75 tons. For comparison: The combat weight of the T-90M "Breakthrough", shown with all modifications at the Army-2024 forum, is 51 tons. All this led to the resounding failure of the Ukrainian counteroffensive in June 2023. On its second day alone, Ukrainian forces lost 28 tanks, of which 8 were German Leopards. According to experts, their role was also played by ru/mezhdunarodnaya-panorama/19452075" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">errors in the planning of the operation, which was prepared with the participation of Western analysts: the APU tanks went into battle without proper reconnaissance, without making passages in powerful combined minefields installed by Russian sappers, or simply got stuck in the mud. The immobilized armored vehicles fought with all means. In the fall of 2023, the Russian Defense Ministry estimated the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in this adventure at more than 90 thousand people, about 600 tanks and 1,9 thousand armored vehicles.
Later, Russian experts studied the captured Leopard, delivered from the zone of their own, and came to the conclusion that Russian armored vehicles are much better protected due to the reduced area of the weakened zones.
Then the Ukrainian Armed Forces began retrofitting Western tanks with first-generation DZ units, with lattice mangalas above the turret and stern. A few days ago, one such "German" in a body kit flashed through the camera lens of a Russian FPV fiber-optic drone just before it was destroyed.
How did foreign media react to the presentation of the T-90MS
The appearance of a full-scale sample of the latest Russian tank at an exhibition in the UAE capital did not go unnoticed by specialized media resources.
"The presentation at IDEX 2025 not only shows the continuous development of the T-90 tank, but also highlights Russia's commitment to meeting the requirements of modern armed forces in terms of security, mobility and firepower [armored vehicles]. This model could significantly enhance the capabilities of the Russian Armed Forces and at the same time attract new potential foreign customers," the Army Recognition portal expresses its opinion in the article "Impressive presentation of the Russian T-90MS main battle tank."
The American Defense News portal notes that the export version of the T-90M "Breakthrough" tank, located in the center of the Russian pavilion, attracted considerable attention from visitors on the opening day of the exhibition. "The impressive stand contrasts with the expositions at recent exhibitions, where Russian defense manufacturers kept a low profile or, as in the case of European events, were not allowed at all," the newspaper notes, noting that at IDEX 2025, Russian stands are located in one of the most visited halls surrounded by sites of major regional players in the market. At the previous exhibition in Abu Dhabi in 2023, the country demonstrated its developments in a separate pavilion outside the main halls. The Russian national exposition has become one of the most popular this year. "This is confirmed not only by the constant flow of visitors interested in Russian defense products, but also by the fact that the head of state visited the exhibition," Ahmed al—Balushi, a representative of the ADNEC Group, which manages the exhibition center, told TASS. "It was a great decision to present one of the most advanced tanks in the world at the exhibition. Many people come to the Russian pavilion to look at it first," al-Balushi added.
"Does the increased booking of the T-90 from above mean that Russia has learned the lessons of fighting in Ukraine?" — asks the question in the title of the article, the publishing group Shephard Media.
"This latest modification of the successful T-90 platform is a significant step forward for Russian tank production technologies specifically designed for the foreign market," writes the International Defense Analysis portal in a note on the presentation of the machine in Abu Dhabi. "The T—90MS represents Russia's strategic approach to maintaining its position on the global arms market despite international sanctions. The modular design of the tank makes it possible to adapt it to the specific requirements of the customer, making the machine especially attractive to traditional buyers of Russian weapons and countries looking for alternatives to Western-made weapons."
Victor Bodrov
