The Russian T-72 tank is almost 50 years old, but it still has a role on the battlefield.
It was intended to overwhelm NATO and the United States by hitting friendly forces in Germany. Around 2,000 of the T-72 variant are still in service in Russia, while many more are in storage.
Around 30 countries have received the tank, and 18,000 were made before the Soviets broke up. The upgrade package is the main strength of the T-72.
The T-72 has been updated many times over the years with dozens of different versions up to the current T-72B3 and T-72B3M.
Russian forces have deployed the updated T-72B3M since the beginning of the year. The Iraqi military was the biggest customer of the T-72S and they purchased 2,000 of it in 2009.
The tank has potential.
A T-72B3M tank is in Russia for a counterterrorism exercise.
GrigorovTASS is pictured via the Getty Images.
The most popular model in the Russian military with over 1,300 in service is the T-72B3 upgrade.
The newer 2A46M5 125mm smoothbore main gun with autoloader is comparable to many main battle tanks around the world.
The Kalina fire-control system with an automatic tracker of enemy tanks and its computer is top-notch. It has a laser range finder. It can fire armor-piercing sabots and high-explosive rounds.
The T-72B3 can also launch missiles.
The armor and engines have been improved.
The Peaceful Mission 2021 joint counterterrorism command-post exercise will take place in Russia.
GrigorovTASS is pictured via the Getty Images.
The T-90A and T-72B3 are both protected by modern Kontakt-5 armor. It can protect against missiles.
The shorter silhouette of the low turret profile gives it some better protection.
The V-92S2F engine is a diesel and has over 1,100 horsepower. The maximum speed on paved roads is 43 mph.
The new steering system allows for better mobility than the base T-72.
It's a hunter-killer because of the upgrades.
The T-72 B3 tank is being operated by an Armenia crew in the Tank Biathlon competition.
Shemetov is Maxim.
The Russians believe that over 7,000 T-72s can be upgraded to the T-72B3 variant package with little difficulty. The T-72B3 variant will be a workhorse in the future.
The T-72 was originally made to accompany infantry and not necessarily to be a hunter-killer, but the T-72B3 upgrade has made it graduate to this status.
The armor on the top of the turret makes the T-72B3 vulnerable to American anti-tank missiles. The T-72B3 has strength in numbers because of all the T-72s that are in reserve that can be updated to the more valuable model.
