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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Russian T-72 characterized as reliable for Russian Army |
| 2021-12-01 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [RIA Novosti] Columnist Brent Eastwood, in an article for Business Insider, called the T-72 tank a reliable support for the Russian army. As the author noted, this military machine was developed about 50 years ago in the USSR , but even half a century later it has great potential. Thanks to the latest upgrades, the tank will be able to compete with the most modern models of technology - this is facilitated by the installation of a new 125-mm smooth-bore cannon 2A46M-5 with automatic loading, writes the columnist. Every Russian tank since 1954 has had an autoloader for its main gun. The T-72 was equipped with a Kalina fire control system capable of independently tracking enemy armored vehicles. In addition, the vehicle can fire armor-piercing and high-explosive shells, and use AT-11 anti-tank missiles. Its hull, like the T-90, is covered with Kontakt-5 reactive armor, the article says. Reactive armor has been in use on Russian tanks since at least the 1990s. Also, even the T-72B2 and some older Russian tanks have been retro-fitted, with stabilized main guns, vehicles also which include the BMP-2 and BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles. Eastwood clarified that Russia plans to upgrade its tanks to the T-72B3 version . This means that this model will remain the "workhorse" of the Russian army in the future, the journalist concluded. The T-72B3 has been in widespread service since at least the 2010s, it main feature being thermal sights. |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #5 Those were M models in Syria, not B models which are much more capable How much more if the newer T-90A tanks were getting taken out by older TOWs? If the rebels had the newer TOWs that had a top down attack mode, they would all have been toast. I would like to see how well the newer versions perform against current generation missiles. I know the active protection system has improved since then. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2021-12-01 18:37 |
| #4 ...maybe true, but I believe they had red on red experience in Chechnya. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2021-12-01 15:39 |
| #3 The T-72s and newer Russian tanks in Syria suffered heavy casualties to modern missiles. Those were M models in Syria, not B models which are much more capable. |
| Posted by: badanov 2021-12-01 09:45 |
| #2 Upgraded T-72s are still a good and reliable tank against 3rd world foes. Any western tank will put them out of action right quick. 3rd world countries that get access to modern anti-tank missiles would be able to knock out quite a few as well. The T-72s and newer Russian tanks in Syria suffered heavy casualties to modern missiles. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2021-12-01 09:29 |
| #1 ...Against the kind of opposition the Russians can reasonably expect to face in the Ukraine, the T-72 will do just fine. Against the latest iterations of the Abrams or Challenger, it's going to have problems. A couple of other points - *The autoloaders are really great when they work. They have been known to try and load the odd crewmember. *Reactive armor is great against RPGs, less effective against LAW's, and utterly useless against a GAU-8. Against other tanks it's helpful - but you better be able to kill that tank before it gets a second round off. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2021-12-01 06:36 |