The Russians have been forced to rely on older tank models in their ongoing war in Ukraine. From the old Soviet T-72 to the more advanced T-90M, one thing is certain: the Russians cannot rely on their newest, more talked about tank, the T14 Armata. Not to worry, the T-90M has been billed as a more advanced Main Battle Tank (MBT) than the more common T-72. 

An upgraded version of the T-90 that has served for 25 years, the T-90M was billed as a truly great tank.

The only problem with these claims, though, is that the T-90M is not really a fourth-generation MBT (which is what Russia really needed when they threw money into the T-90M). Instead, it is a compromise between the need for a truly next generation MBT and the reality of post-Soviet Russian economics and politics. 

The T-90M Specs

Sure, the Russians upgraded the T-90M’s main gun from the older 2A46M cannon to the newer 2A46M-4 cannon. This upgraded cannon has, like all Russian tanks, an autoloaded which increases the destructive power and combat efficiency of the T-90M. It has gifted the T-90M with a nearly 20 percent greater accuracy rating than its older T-90 brother had. The T-90M’s main gun can carry a total of 43 rounds. 

Meanwhile, a Refleks anti-tank guided missile launcher can be used to destroy enemy helicopters.

And the T-90M sports some incredible new Relikt built-in Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA). Further, the T-90M has a smoke grenade capability that is launched whenever the tank’s modern sensors detect a laser from an enemy unit targeting the tank. This capability, therefore, helps the T-90M avoid being hit. 

Supposedly, the semi-fourth-generation tank enjoys similar systems onboard as does the more advanced T14 Armata. For example, the communications and control systems onboard the T-90M are as good as anything that the T14 is equipped with. 

But the tank itself has struggled in the soggy killing fields of Ukraine. 

Russia’s T-90 MBT has been one of the most destroyed pieces of military equipment in the Ukraine war, with nearly half of the T-90 losses belonging to the upgraded T-90M MBT. To add insult-to-injury, the T-90M has been most destroyed by the far cheaper NATO-provided Javelin anti-tank missiles. These are not weapons fired by rival tank crews. Instead, they are shoulder-fired infantry weapons. 

So, the T-90M, which cost about $4.5 million per unit has been obliterated in Ukraine by weapons that costabout $78,000 per unit. 

All this indicates is that the face of modern warfare has fundamentally changed. Whatever happens to Ukraine (they are likely lose), the fact remains that Ukraine, with the assistance of NATO, has managed to do significant damage to Russia’s war machine. 

Specifically, Kiev’s forces have been able to destroy the image of the T-90M as a dominant tank. 

At the same time, though, Western observers would be fools to downplay the T-90M. It is an innovative tank design with many in the global tank community who respect the war machine. Although it has received a great number of casualties in Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, dismissing their potency is foolish. 

The Changing Face of War

After all, these tanks have a history of being in some of the fiercest combat zones globally—not just Ukraine, but Chechnya and the Syrian Civil War. In all those wars, the T-90Ms performed valiantly. In fact, the Explosive Reactive Armor protecting the tanks against rocket attacks ensured that the T-90Ms stayed in the fight longer than most other tanks would have after being hit. 

The T-90M isn’t a bad tank. It’s just not the tank Russia needs to fight the Ukraine War. More importantly, there might not be any tank today that will achieve what previous generations of tanks did. That’s because warfare has so seriously evolved from what it was even a decade ago that tanks and several other legacy systems may simply be past their prime. 

That debate, of course, is still raging. 

What matters is keeping in mind that the T-90Ms have not performed as designed in Ukraine. And Ukraine is an unfortunate snapshot of future wars in this century.

About the Author 

Brandon J. Weichert, a National Interest national security analyst, is a former Congressional staffer and geopolitical analyst who is a contributor at The Washington Times, the Asia Times, and The-Pipeline. He is the author of Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His next book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine, is due October 22 from Encounter Books. Weichert can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.

All images are Creative Commons.