New upgraded T-72B3M main battle tank also called T-72B4 will enter in service with Russian army 12003162

Defence & Security News - Russia
 
New upgraded T-72B3M main battle tank also called T-72B4 will enter in service with Russian army.
Russia is planning to modernize its 150 T-72 main battle tanks (MBT) to the T-72B3M version also called T-72B4. According to Russian military engineers, the upgraded T-72 MBT will be comparable to the more advanced T-90, but with much lower costs.
     
Russia is planning to modernize its 150 T-72 main battle tanks (MBT) to the T-72B3M version also called T-72B4. According to Russian military engineers, the upgraded T-72 MBT will be comparable to the more advanced T-90, but with much lower costs. T-72B3M/B4 of Russian team at The Final of International Russian army Tank Biathlon 2014
     

Currently, Russian armed forces use a wide range of T-72 MBT variants. The T-72 is a russian made main battle tank that entered production in 1970. It is a further development of the T-62 with some features of the T-64A (upgraded version of basic T-64) and has been further developed as the T-90.

Russia will spend 2.5 billion rubles ($37 million) to upgrade 150 T-72Bs to the advanced B3M standard, Uralvagonzavod deputy director Alexey Zharich told the Russian newspaper Izvestia.

The T-72B3M (T-72B4) will be upgraded with lot of new components including the new cannon 2A46M5 125-mm smoothbore gun as well as the new Sosna-U sighting system paired with the 1A40-4 fire-control system. The tank will also receive a new ballistic computer to increase accuracy.

The T-72B3M will be equipped with an independent panoramic sight for the tank’s commander, with its own thermal imaging device.

The tanks will also get the new Relikt explosive reactive armor. It will replace the old Kontakt-5 system and is expected to be two times more effective.

Furthermore, the upgraded version will be powered with the new V-92S2F engine and deliver 1,130 hp. It will replace the old 780-hp diesel engine. The new engine is paired with an automatic transmission system and improved drivetrain to improve the tank’s mobility.