Russia delivers 200 T-90M tanks to Pro-Russian forces of Lugansk People's Republic
According to a video published by the Russian Television Channel NTV on December 7, 2022, Russia delivers a new batch of 200 T-90M Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) to the Lugansk People's Republic (LNR or LPR) Pro-Russian military forces.
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Russia delivers 200 T-90M tanks to the Pro-Russian forces of the Lugansk People's Republic. (Picture source Screen Shot of video footage NTV Russian TV channel)
The LPR or LNR (Luhansk or Lugansk People's Republic) declared independence from Ukraine in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity and pro-Russian unrest in April 2014, alongside the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and the Republic of Crimea (including Sevastopol).
Citing information from the NTV Russian News Channel Television, these T-90M tanks come directly from the factory of the Uralvagonzavod tank manufacturer located in the city of Nizhny Tagil. These tanks will strengthen the existing military units of the Pro-Russian Armed Forces in the region. For several weeks, Russia has been increasing the deployment of its latest generation of T-90M tanks in the theaters of operations in Ukraine.
The T-90M is the latest generation of Main Battle Tank (MBT) in the T-90 tank family. It was unveiled to the public during the edition 2017 of military exercise Zapad which was held from 14 to 20 September 2017. It is an improved version of the T-90 MBT with more protection, mobility, and firepower.
The T-90M is armed with a new 2A46M-4 gun which is able to fire at a greater distance and is 15-20% more accurate than the standard 2A46M gun of the T-90. The cannon has a maximum firing range of 3,000 m. The main gun can also fire the 9M119 Refleks NATO reporting name AT-11 or Sniper-B, an anti-tank guided missile that can be used against land targets and low-flying helicopters with a range from 4 to 5 km. The second armament consists of one coaxial 7.62 mm machine gun and one remotely-controlled weapon station armed with a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun mounted on the turret roof.
According to Army General Oleg Leonidovich Salyukov, the current Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Ground Forces, the armor of the T-90M is able to withstand modern ATGMs (Anti-Tank Guided Missiles) including the American Javelin anti-tank missile. The tank is fitted with the third-generation of Relikt which is the most modern ERA (Explosive Reactive Armor) developed by the Russian defense industry.
The T-90M is also equipped with elements of the Afganit APS (Active Protection System) which are also mounted on the T-14 Armata MBT. The system can reportedly intercept armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot kinetic energy penetrators in addition to high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) munitions.
Standard equipment of the T-90M also includes the Kalina, a new generation of automatic target tracker and computerized fire control system. The system is capable of automatically tracking and continuously locking the MBT (Main Battle Tank) main gun on a target based on input from various sensors until the gunner decides to engage the target. The Kalina also includes a panoramic sight providing 360° combat situation awareness at the same time for the tank commander and the gunner.