Russia’s Uralvagonzavod has delivered fresh batches of upgraded T-90M and T-72B3M main battle tanks to the Russian Army amid mounting combat losses.
The tanks feature over 100 upgrades compared to previous batches, including anti-first-person view drone nets and reinforced rubber protection.
Also included is additional protection for the stern, engine, and transmission compartment, in addition to visibility reduction measures and an electronic warfare system for drones, the Russian state manufacturer claimed.
“A tank from early 2022 and a tank from late 2024 are, one might say, two different combat vehicles,” Uralvagonzavod official Alexander Potapov noted.
“For example, if we talk about the protection system, it did not anticipate many of the challenges that we faced literally from the first days of the Special Military Operation.
“The corresponding modifications were immediately adopted, the designers worked day and night, and the plant workers promptly made changes to the products that were already being assembled in the workshop.”
T-90M
The T-90M is the latest iteration of the T-90 series, featuring a 125mm smoothbore gun, thermal imaging, explosive reactive armor, and an encrypted digital communications system.
It is also equipped with a coaxial 7.62 mm machine gun as a secondary weapon and can launch 9M119 Refleks anti-tank guided missiles.
While considered the most capable operational Russian main battle tank, the T-90M carries an inherent design flaw that has plagued previous generations of Russian tanks.
The tank’s autoloader and hull can together accommodate up to 43 projectiles and charges, which can detonate upon an anti-tank missile strike, destroying the vehicle.
Russia’s Tank Losses
An estimated 3,700 Russian main battle tanks have been lost in the Ukraine war, which is a few hundred more than the fleet size with which Moscow invaded Ukraine in early 2022.
The losses are attributed to a variety of factors, including poor crew training, bad tactics, and design flaws.
Russia’s defense-industrial complex has attempted to produce replacements in sufficient numbers, including pulling out mothballed tanks from storage for reuse and spare parts.
An estimated 231 T-90Ms have either been built or modernized since April 2020, with deliveries taking place in batches of 11 to 15.
Out of the lot, however, around 100 have been either destroyed, damaged and abandoned, or captured, according to open-source investigative project Oryx.
