What You Need to Know: Russian tanks, including the advanced T-90, are facing severe challenges in Ukraine, with significant losses reported. Despite being Russia’s most advanced operational tank, the T-90M variant has struggled against modern threats like anti-tank munitions and suicide drones.

-A key vulnerability stems from the tank's autoloading system, which leaves its ammunition unprotected, making it an easy target for precision attacks. Reports suggest that more than 160 T-90 tanks have been lost, with 100 of these being the newer T-90M models.

-Ukraine’s forces, equipped with M2 Bradley vehicles, have successfully neutralized even the most advanced Russian tanks, raising questions about their future viability in combat.

The T-90 Tank: Russia’s Modern Armor Fails to Impress in Ukraine

As we have covered here at The National Interest, Russian tanks are taking heavy losses in Ukraine. T-72 and T-80 tanks are dropping like flies, and Western intelligence assessments put the number of destroyed or damaged Russian tanks above 3,000 – the Ukrainians claim more than 8,000 kills.

Besides the heavy losses, Russian tanks simply have not performed well in the fighting. Even advanced tanks like the T-90 have fallen short.  

The T-90M In Trouble 

In many ways, the T-90 is a combination of the T-72 and T-80, Russia’s other main battle tanks. The T-90 has the chassis of the T-72 and the turret of the T-80, with some improvements on both components. The tank also has improved sensors and tech inside the vehicle. 

According to open-source information, Russian forces have lost approximately 160 T-90 tanks. As with all tanks of the Russian military, several different versions of the T-90 offer slightly different capabilities. For example, the Russian military has lost T-90S, T-90A, and T-90AK  tanks. But what is most concerning for the Russian military is that about 100 out of those 160 destroyed T-90s belong to the newest variant of the tank – the most advanced operational tank of the entire Russian military, the T-90M. 

Out of all the tanks the Russian military has deployed in Ukraine, the T-90M is the most advanced, having entered service in 2019 as the fourth version of the T-90. (There is the T-14 Armata, which is on paper more advanced, but the program is a failure.) That version of the tank sports a 125 mm 2A46 smoothbore main gun and an improved V-92S2F engine that can crank out more than 1,100 horsepower. 

But despite being the most advanced operational Russian main battle tank, the T-90M is getting battered in Ukraine. 

The tank isn’t geared to take on the newest threats on the battlefield, including suicide drones and advanced anti-tank munitions. 

Russian tanks have a structural design flaw that makes it quite easy for a suicide drone or an anti-tank missile approaching at an angle to simply detonate the whole tank. Instead of using a loader to replenish the main gun, Russian tanks use an autoloading system. The idea is to have a smoother and more efficient rate of fire. However, it also means the autoloading system needs to have easy access to the tank’s ammunition, which is unprotected and close to the turret. As a result, it only takes one hit to turn a Russian tank into a fireball and propel its turret hundreds of feet in the air. 

But Russian T-90 tanks are also vulnerable to more standard threats. Back in January, two Ukrainian M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles went up against a Russian T-90M tank. In that battle of unequals, the Ukrainian M2 Bradleys managed to incapacitate the Russian main battle tank before a suicide drone destroyed it completely.  

About the Author: 

Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University and an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.

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