T-90

   The T-90 main battle tank is a further development of the T-72. It was accepted to service with Russian army in 1993 and it's low-rate production commenced in 1994. Currently Russian Army operates about 500 of these MBTs. Other sources claim, that there are about 1 000 T-90 main battle tanks of all variants in service. It is the most modern tank currently in service with the Russian Army, which has a requirement for about 1 500 of these tanks. Also it is the only mass-produced MBT in Russia. The T-90 is considered to be among the 10 best main battle tanks in the world. Currently it is the most commercially successful main battle tank on the global market. Export operators are India, Algeria and Venezuela.

   The T-90 MBT uses a well proven chassis of the T-72 and turret with all weapon systems of the T-80U.

   It has a welded composite armor hull with a built-in Kontakt-5 explosive reactive armor blocks. It's protection is enhanced by Shtora-1 countermeasures system, which significantly reduces the chance of being hit by enemy ATGW with semi-automatic guidance.

   The T-90 main battle tank is a armed with a fully-stabilized 2A46M 125-mm smoothbore gun. This gun is also used to launch 9K119 Refleks (NATO designation AT-11 Sniper-B) anti-tank guided missies, in the same manner, as ordinary munitions. The AT-11 missile has a range of 4 -5 km and can also engage low-flying helicopters. Main gun of the T-90 is completed with a carousel-type autoloader. 22 rounds are carried in the autoloader. However it's spare ammunition is stored in the main compartment, rather than a separate compartment with a blow-out panels. This drawback was common to all Cold War era Soviet main battle tanks. Effective range of fire with APFSDS round is 2 000 - 3 000 m day and 2 000 - 2 600 at night. Armor penetration is about 590 - 630 mm at 2 000 m range.

   Secondary armament consists of a coaxial 7.62-mm machine gun and a roof mounted remotely-controlled 12.7-mm machine gun, used against both ground and air targets.

   This tank has a crew of three, including commander, gunner and driver.

   The T-90 is powered by a V-84MS multi-fuel diesel engine, developing 840 horsepower. Vehicle is completed with an auxiliary power unit, which powers all tank's systems, when the main engine is turned off. It is worth mentioning that the original T-90 has a lower power-to-weight ration than most current MBTs, hence it's vague mobility performance. Vehicle is fitted with a deep wading kit, that can be installed by tank's crew within 20 minutes. The T-90 is also fitted with a self-entrenching blade.

   This main battle tank has undergone continuous upgrades since it was first developed in the early 1990s.

Variants

   T-90K command tank;

   T-90S export variant (sometimes referred as the T-90E), powered by a diesel engine, developing 1 000 horsepower;

   T-90SK export command variant;

   T-90 Bhishma or Bheeshma. It is a license-built variant in service with the Indian army. It lacks Shtora countermeasures system, but retains the 9K119 Refleks ATGM capability. It is also powered by the 1 000 hp diesel engine;

   T-90A improved Russian Army variant, fitted with a diesel engine, developing 1 000 hp. It also has some minor improvements comparing with original model;

   MTU-90 bridgelayer. It is designed to launch bridge across trenches and water obstacles in combat conditions.

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