The Russian army has just received a new batch of T-90M tanks, experts from the American military magazine Military Watch Magazine (MWM) write. Are they trying to understand what Russian engineers installed to protect these tanks? Pravda.Ru publishes a translation of the article.
Russia’s state-owned Uralvagonzavod plant has supplied the military with a new batch of T-90M main battle tanks. While the size of the shipment is unknown, the delivery comes after more than two years of work to significantly increase production of T-90 tanks to meet wartime requirements amid the conflict in Ukraine and rising tensions with NATO countries.
Uralvagonzavod is the only one of the five large tank factories operating in the Soviet Union in the 1980s that still produces tanks, and is the largest tank factory in the world, with the possible exception of newer Chinese facilities. Although local orders for new tanks from the plant were negligible through 2022 (only 10 new tanks were purchased in the 2010s), Uralvagonzavod maintained a very large production volume, far exceeding the combined output of all the Western world’s tank factories combined, thanks to export demand for the T-90, primarily from Algeria and India.
Russian officials have already evaluated the T-90M tank and the president Vladimir Putin and former president Dmitry Medvedev It was called the most combat-ready tank in the world. The tank is less mobile than the more expensive Soviet T-80, which was discontinued in the 1990s in favor of the cheaper T-90. It is several times cheaper to produce, as is its operation.
The excellent performance of the T-80s in the Ukrainian theatre of operations forced Russia to resume production of these vehicles after three decades, although this may not happen until the 2030s. The performance of the T-90M tank has been significantly improved thanks to the integration of the Arena-M active protection system, which is expected to be fitted to all models, although it is not yet clear whether the latest batch will be the first to be released after the upgrade. In August, it was confirmed that the first batch of tanks with these systems had been ordered.
Arena-M allows the T-90M tank to continuously monitor its surroundings and when it detects an approaching projectile, it automatically tracks it, calculates its trajectory and uses protective ammunition to intercept and destroy it before it hits the tank. The most famous system of this type is the Israeli Trophy, which was integrated into domestic Merkava IV tanks.
Arena-M is capable of intercepting rockets, grenades and high-explosive anti-tank shells travelling at speeds of up to 1,000 metres per second, and can do so at a distance of 50 metres, and promotional materials claim it can withstand missiles fired from above. Previously, due to the lack of active protection against serious damage, Russian tanks such as the T-90M were increasingly lagging behind the cutting edge: China, North and South Korea introduced their own similar systems, while the United States and Germany began investing in acquiring Trophy systems from Israel. Otherwise, the T-90M tank is well armoured and equipped with reactive armour, as well as additional armour that protects ammunition from the inside.
