Russia will supply more T-90S MBTs main battle tanks to Iraq.

Russia will continue to supply Iraq with T-90S main battle tanks (MBTs) to equip one Iraqi armoured brigades. In July 2017, the Russian Press Agency TASS has announced that the Iraqi Armed Forces will acquire the Russian T-90S main battle tanks.

Russian T-90S main battle tank at Russian Expo Arms exhibition in Nizhny Tagil, Russia. (Picture source Army Recognition)

"Iraq is our traditional partner and it has been boosting its potential by ordering our equipment. Today we are equipping there an entire armored brigade, our equipment is supplied there," said presidential aide for military and technical cooperation Vladimir Kozhin onRossiya 24 TV channel, Monday, March 12, 2018.

In February 2018, The Ministry of Defense (MoD) of Iraq has confirmed the receiving of the first batch of 36 T-90S main battle tanks (MBT) under a contract signed with Russia, the Shafaq News agency says, citing the Chief of Staff of the Iraqi Armed Forces Lieutenant General Othman Al-Ghanmi.

By late April 2018, Iraq will receive another batch of 37 T-90S MBT as part of the contract with the aim of "increasing combat capacity of armored troops."

The T-90S MBT, an export-oriented variant of the T-90, has been developed and manufactured by the Uralvagonzavod corporation (UVZ, a subsidiary of Rostec). Main armament of the T-90S includes one 125 mm 2A46M smoothbore gun, stabilized in two axes and fitted with a thermal sleeve. The gun tube can be replaced without dismantling inside the turret. The T-90S is intended to engage tanks fitted with ERA (Explosive Reactive Armour) as well as low-flying air targets such as helicopters, at a range of up to 5 km.

The layout of the T-90S MBT is similar to the standard T-90 MBT, with the driver's compartment at the front, two-man turret in the centre and engine compartment at the rear. The T-90S tank is protected by both conventional armour-plating and latest generation Kontakt-5 explosive reactive armour (ERA).