Russia’s T-90M Tank: Hype or Battlefield Heavyweight?
Russia's T-90M Proryv, touted as one of the most advanced tanks in the world, has suffered significant losses in the war in Ukraine, with over 100 reportedly destroyed, damaged, or abandoned, according to the open-source website Oryx.
What You Need to Know: Russia's T-90M Proryv, touted as one of the most advanced tanks in the world, has suffered significant losses in the war in Ukraine, with over 100 reportedly destroyed, damaged, or abandoned, according to the open-source website Oryx.
-Despite these setbacks, Russian officials, including Dmitry Medvedev, have praised the tank's performance, claiming it outmatches Western counterparts. The T-90M boasts advanced features such as a 125mm smoothbore gun, thermal imaging, and explosive reactive armor but shares a critical vulnerability with older Soviet-era tanks: a turret autoloader prone to catastrophic explosions.
-The U.S. recently acquired a captured T-90 for evaluation, raising questions about whether the tank lives up to its reputation.
T-90M Proryv: Can Russia’s Top Tank Compete with the West?
According to the open-source military analysis website Oryx, which has tracked combat losses in the ongoing war in Ukraine, Russia's military has seen at least 100 of its advanced T-90 main battle tank (MBT) destroyed, damaged, or abandoned. As many as five have been captured intact by Kyiv's forces, but at least a dozen more may have recovered – providing parts, and valuable insight to the West.
Even as the losses continue, the T-90M Proryv, the latest model to enter service with the Russian military, has received high praise from Kremlin officials. Earlier this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin described it as the best tank in service today – even as the Kremlin spent a decade towards the T-14 Armata.
Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev told the Saudi state-owned international Arabic news television channel Al Arabiya this week that he believes the T-90M has no match on the battlefield, per a report from Tass.
"The operation of probably our best tank T-90M Proryv has just been demonstrated to us. Many experts, I am not talking about the military proper, believe this is the best tank of our time, compared to Western counterparts in particular," Medvedev said during a tour of the Uralvagonzavod plant, the leading tank manufacturing center in Russia.
"Any performance characteristics, when comparing them on paper, say nothing," he added. "The main issue is how a certain type of weapons, materiel will perform in real combat environment. The T-90M Proryv tank showed itself as the best tank in real combat."
In his interview with Al Arabiya, Medvedev also suggested that Russia isn't involved in a "hybrid war," but said that it is now "actually [in] a direct war with the North Atlantic Alliance," and he made the dubious claim that the "absolute majority of military hardware and weapons" being used by Russia's forces were domestically-produced. He downplayed the support from China, North Korea, and Iran, but admitted, "We are cooperating with a range of countries."
The T-90 – What Do We Know?
Though dozens of T-90s, including the T-90M, have been destroyed, we shouldn't entirely dismiss its capabilities. The war in Ukraine has proven to be a graveyard of tanks, where the best in the world have been taken out by enemy MBTs, man-portable rocket launchers, mines, and notably drones. The German-made Leopard 2, the British Challenger 2, and the M1 Abrams have met similar fates.
The T-90 is still a capable, vehicle. It has a crew of three: a commander, a driver, and a gunner.
The Russian-made MBT is armed with a 2A46 125 mm smoothbore main gun equipped with a stabilization system, advanced panoramic sights, and a thermal imager. The Russian T-90M can also launch 9M119 Refleks anti-tank guided missiles. Its secondary armament includes a coaxial 7.62 mm machine gun. The MBT is further reported to be protected by the multi-layer steel-composite-reactive blend Kontakt-5 Explosive Reactive Armor while featuring an encrypted digital communications system.
However, the T-90M also features a common flaw found in late-era Soviet and early Russian Federation MBTs – namely that the tank is equipped with an autoloader that can hold more than 22 projectiles and charges, with an additional 21 rounds in the hull. This does allow for the tank to maintain a high rate of fire of up to seven or eight rounds per minute, but if an anti-tank rocket strikes the turret, it can set off the rounds inside. This can result in the so-called jack-in-the-box effect where the turret is blown off the hull.
A Captured T-90 in the USA
Despite the Russian tank's shortcomings, the United States has certainly been curious about it – and that explains why a T-90 spotted in Louisiana last year at a truck stop.
It wasn't part of a real-life Red Dawn and it wasn't a movie prop. The tank was captured in Ukraine in 2022, and the Pentagon confirmed that the tank was being sent to the Aberdeen Proving Ground for evaluation. Perhaps the U.S. experts can determine if the T-90M lives up Medvedev's hyperbole.
Author Experience and Expertise: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
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