T-90M Bhishma | India’s Main Battle Tank | Armoured Core | Indian Army | Indian Defence Forces
The T-90 is a third-generation Russian battle tank that entered service in 1993. The tank is a modern variation of the T-72B and incorporates many features found on the T-80U. Originally called the T-72BU, but later renamed to T-90, it is an advanced tank in service with Russian Ground Forces and the Naval Infantry. The T-90 uses a 125 mm 2A46 smoothbore main gun, the 1A45T fire-control system, an upgraded engine, and gunner's thermal sight. Standard protective measures include a blend of steel and composite armour, smoke grenade dischargers, Kontakt-5 explosive-reactive armour and the Shtora infrared ATGM jamming system. It was designed and built by Uralvagonzavod, in Nizhny Tagil, Russia.
The T-90 has its origins in a Soviet-era program aimed at developing a single replacement for the T-64, T-72 and T-80 series of main battle tanks. The T-72 platform was selected as the basis for the new generation of tank owing to its cost-effectiveness, simplicity and automotive qualities. The Kartsev-Venediktov Design Bureau from Nizhny Tagil was responsible for the design work and prepared two parallel proposals—the Object 188, which was a relatively simple upgrade of the existing T-72B tank (Object 184), and the far more advanced Object 187—only vaguely related to the T-72 series and incorporating major improvements to the hull and turret design, armor, powerplant and armament. Development work was approved in 1986 and the first prototypes were completed by 1988. The vehicles resulting from the Object 187 program have not been declassified to this date, but it was the lower risk Object 188 upgrade that would be approved for series production as the T-72BU.
Combat use
An early variant of the export-oriented T-90S allegedly saw combat action during the 1999 Chechen invasion of Dagestan instead of being delivered to India. According to Moscow Defense Brief, one vehicle was hit by seven RPG anti-tank rockets but remained in action. The journal concluded that with regular equipment, the upgraded T-90 seems to be the best protected Russian tank, especially with the implementation of Shtora-1 and Arena defensive systems.
During the Donbass War in Ukraine in the summer of 2014, elements of the Russian 136th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade equipped with T-90A tanks conducting operations in Luhansk Oblast of Ukraine were identified in social media posts, and locations of their photographs georeferenced by open-source investigators.
The T-90A was deployed to Syria in 2015 to support the Russian involvement in the Syrian Civil War. In early February 2016, Syrian Army forces began using T-90As in combat. In late February, a video was leaked on the internet which showed a T-90 survive a direct frontal turret hit by a TOW missile in Aleppo. In November 2017, it was reported a T-90 had been destroyed by ISIS terrorists in Syria.
On 15 September 2020 a Russian T-90 was accidentally hit by an anti-tank guided missile during exercises held in Russia's Astrakhan region causing serious damage to the vehicle.
Azerbaijan used their T-90S tanks during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. One T-90 was damaged and captured by Armenian forces
Operators
Current operators
- Algeria
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- India
- Iraq
- Russia
- Syria
- Turkmenistan
- Uganda
- Vietnam
Future operators
- Egypt
- Kuwait
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