T-90

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The T-90 main battle tank, the most modern tank in the Russian and Indian army arsenal, went into low-level production in 1993, based on a prototype designated as the T-88. The T-90 was developed by the Kartsev-Venediktov Design Bureau at the Uralvagonzavod in Nizhny Tagil. The production model is based on a heavily redesigned T-72BM, with some added features from the T-80 series; the new name T-90 was chosen partly to shake off the stigma of the massive failure of old T-72 tanks in the Iraq War (Sewell 1998:45). The T-90 features a new generation of Kontakt-5 explosive reactive armor on its hull and turret. Two variants, the T-90S and T-90E, have been identified as possible export models.

By mid-1996 some 107 T-90s had gone into service in the Far Eastern Military District. Plans called for all earlier models to be replaced with T-90s by the end of 1997, but this objective remains unachieved due to lack of funding.

The year 1999 saw the appearance of a new model of T-90, featuring the fully welded turret of the Obiekt 187 experimental MBT instead of the cast design of the original T-90. This new model is called "Vladimir" in honour of T-90 Chief Designer Vladimir Potkin, who died in 1999. It is unknown how this design affects the protection and layout of the turret, and whether the frontal armor package was also extensively redesigned.

The 125 mm gun is capable of firing:

APFSDS
HEAT-FS,
HE
frag-FS
The 9K120 Refleks anti-tank guided missile

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Usage

Apart from the Russian Army, T-90 tanks are used in the Indian Army. In 2001, India bought 310 T-90S tanks, of which 124 were fully assembled in Russia, and 186 were in knocked down or semi-knocked down condition. T-90s were made by Uralvagonzavod and the engines were delivered by Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant.

India bought the T-90 after the failure to utilize the production of the Arjun and to counter the Pakistani purchase of the T-80UD/T-84

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