What You Need to Know: Russia's T-90M "Proryv-3" tank, once highly touted as a battlefield breakthrough, has struggled in Ukraine, underscoring broader issues in Russia’s military-industrial complex. Originally designed to replace the T-72 after its poor performance in the 1991 Gulf War, the T-90M boasts advanced countermeasures but has underwhelmed in combat.

-Ukrainian forces have effectively targeted Russia’s T-90 tanks, capturing or destroying multiple units, further exposing the tank's limitations.

-With the cost-prohibitive T-14 Armata sidelined, Russia is left relying on the T-90 and T-72, despite substantial losses, as the war drags on with no clear resolution in sight.

Russia’s T-90M Tank Stumbles in Ukraine: Why It’s Failing on the Battlefield=

Russia’s autocratic president, Vladimir Putin, seemingly never-ending “special military operation” in Ukraine has been a huge embarrassment for the Russian military-industrial complex. Throughout the war, the Russian military has delivered an underwhelming battlefield performance, sustained huge materiel and manpower losses, spent untold billions, and faced production maladies that have prevented its often-lauded weapons systems from even deploying into combat in the first place.

This has been especially true of Russia’s previously highly touted and much feared main battle tanks (MBTs), from Cold War leftovers like the T-72 to newer tanks like the T-14 Armata and the current subject at hand, the T-90M (nicknamed the “Proryv-3” or “Breakthrough-3”).

T-90M Initial History and Specifications

Initially put into production by UralVagonZavod in 1992 (the year after the collapse of the Soviet Union), the original iteration of the third-generation T-90 was developed from, and indeed designed to replace, the T-72. (Ergo, that 1992 production commencement year is coincidental in more ways than one; not only is it the year after the USSR’s collapse, but it’s also the year after the T-72 was utterly embarrassed in combat by the U.S.-made M1 Abrams MBT during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, AKA Operation Desert Storm.)

Meanwhile, the current iteration, the T-90M, debuted in 2019. It comes with the following specifications and vital stats:

Crew Capacity: three (commander, driver, gunner,

Mass: 51 tons

Length: 9.63 m (31 ft 7 in)

Width: 3.78 m (12 ft 5 in)

Height: 2.22 m (7 ft 3 in)

Max Speed: 60 km/h (37 mph)

Operational Range: 550 km (340 mi)

Armaments:

1x 2A46M-5 (AKA D-81TM) 125 mm smoothbore cannon

1x 12.7 mm (.50 caliber) Kord machine gun

1x 7.62 mm PKTM machine gun

In addition, according to my colleague Maya Carlin in a July 21, 2024 article for The National Interest titled “Russia’s T-90 Tank Keeps Getting ‘Smashed to Pieces’ in Ukraine War”:

“In terms of countermeasures, the T-90M is fitted with a Shtora-1 suite that provides a laser warning system, automatic smoke dispensers, and infrared dazzlers.”

Roughly 4,000 specimens have been built, along with 1,400 units of the T-90S/SM built in India under license. In addition to the Russian Ground Forces, the T-90 has also been adopted by nine other nations, though Russia is still the only entity officially using the T-90M variant … not counting the M models captured by the Ukrainians (more on this in the next segment). Those other users, besides the aforementioned India, are Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Syria, Uganda, and Vietnam.

Operational history—or lack thereof?

Well, ladies and gents, to damn this tank with faint praise, the T-90 has at least been “bloodied” in actual combat, which is more than can be said of the overhyped Armata; if the operational performance can be summed up in the title of one of William Shakespeare’s plays: “Much Ado About Nothing,” then in turn the T-90’s operational performance can be analogized as “Much Ado About Very Little.”

To give our readers an appreciation for just how underwhelming the T-90M’s actual combat performance has been, let’s turn to Carlin once again:

“Ukrainian forces target every Russian tank series on the battlefield, and Russia’s ranks of T-90s have been decimated. Oryx estimates that Moscow has lost at least 145 T-90s, which are considered to be the most capable MBTs Russia fields. … Last week, Ukrainian soldiers from the 68th Jaeger Brigade reportedly captured a T-90 left behind by Russian troops on the battlefield. According to Defence Blog, Kyiv captured a T-90 tank and a BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicle. … This came one month after video footage showing the destruction of another T-90 circulated on social media. Clearly, the downward performance trajectory for Russia’s most modern tank does not bode well for the Kremlin’s offensive efforts.”

The way forward

As badly as the T-90M is performing on the battlefield, given Russia’s unwillingness to deploy the newer T-14 Armata due to the latter’s exorbitant expenses and production shortfalls, the Russian Army will basically have no option but to continue to make do with both the T-90 and its T-72 ancestor until this insane Russo-Ukrainian war finally ends.

Time will tell. 

About the Author: Christian D. Orr, Defense Expert

Christian D. Orr is a Senior Defense Editor for National Security Journal (NSJ). He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He has also been published in The Daily Torch , The Journal of Intelligence and Cyber Security, and Simple Flying. Last but not least, he is a Companion of the Order of the Naval Order of the United States (NOUS).

Image Credit: Creative Commons.