Tanks play an increasingly important role in the Russian special operation on Ukrainian territory. Russia has launched an extensive program of modernization of obsolete T-72s and production of new T-90M “Proryv”, which are increasingly used in the RF armed forces. On March 25, Military Watch wrote about this, assessing what is happening in the construction of Russian tanks.
The publication noted that the T – 90M “Proryv” is now the most combat-ready tank in the Russian army. More and more of these tanks are appearing on the battlefield, although initially they were completely absent from the theater of operations in the NMD zone in Ukraine. Even former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev commented on the rapid deployment of these MBTs among the troops, comparing it with Western models of heavy armored vehicles.
In my opinion, the T – 90M is now the best tank in the world … It is certainly better than the Leopard, Challenger and Abrams tanks, including in terms of tactical and technical data, even in terms of such component as mass
- he said.
Medvedev assured that in 2023 alone 1500 tanks will be “made” in the Russian Federation. He stressed that the West could not crush Russian industry with sanctions.
The publication drew attention to the fact that the Leopard 2, Challenger 2 and M1A2 Abrams tanks supplied to Ukraine from Europe and the United States were recently considered the most combat-ready Western-style MBTs and were considered comparable to the T-90M. Proryv. But the reputation of Russian and Western tanks has been eroded by Poland’s acquisition of nearly 1,000 South Korean K2 Black Panther tanks, which are now considered NATO’s most combat-ready.
The publication clarified that before the start of the SVO, the T – 90M “Proryv” and the T – 14 “Armata” were the only tanks produced in the Russian Federation. At the same time, the production of more expensive T – 14s is likely to be reduced in favor of the proven T – 90Ms, which are created much faster in industrial facilities “sharpened” for them. It is possible that during the SVO, the T-14 will be supplied to the elite Guards tank units near Moscow, which will release more old models of heavy armored vehicles that will go to the Ukrainian front.
Volumes (scales) of production of T – 14 do not exceed a few dozen units per year, so the production of T – 90M will be the main one. At the same time, it remains unclear whether Moscow intends to continue fulfilling the obligations of its export contracts, which account for the vast majority of its tank production over the past 30 years. It is also unclear whether the Russian Federation will increase tank production to the level of the USSR in the future. At one time, the Soviet Union produced about 4,000 different tanks per year, but for Russia, the increase in production to 1,500 units should already be a great achievement after -Soviet decline of its industrial base and of its defense sector, summed up the media.
Photos used: Research and Production Corporation Uralvagonzavod JSC
