Russian army has received T-90M main battle tanks and BMPT fire support vehicles.

Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) has begun receiving the upgraded T-90M main battle tanks (MBTs) as well as BMPT fire support tracked armored vehicles, according to the newspaper Red Star (‘Krasnaya Zvezda’).

T-90M main battle tank (Picture source Army Recognition)

“The T-90M MBTs and Terminator fire support vehicles have been sent to the troops,” the newspaper reported on April 3. The Red Star did not detail the number of vehicles of each type delivered to the Russian military.

The T-90M model 2017 also nicknamed Proryv-3 is an upgraded variant of the export version of the T-90MS Main Battle Tank (MBT) developed and designed by the Russian Company Uralvagonzavod. The T-90M Model 2017 is improved in terms of protection, mobility and firepower. The T-90M was tested by the Russian army during the military exercise Zapad-2017 which was held from the 14 to 20 September 2017.

The main armament of the T-90M Model 2017 Proryv-3 consists of one 125 mm 2A46M-4 smoothbore gun able to fire standard ammunition but also anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM) Refleks NATO Code AT-11 Sniper-B. The second armament includes one PKT 7.62mm coaxial machine mounted to the right of the main armament. at the rear of the commander hatch is mounted a remotely operated weapon station armed with an NSVT 12.7mm heavy machine gun.

The T-90M features a new all-welded turret design protected by the Relikt ERA (Explosive Reactive Armour) armour fitted at the front and on each side of the turret. It features higher protection performance and serviceability compared with the Kontakt-5 ERA suite.

At the Russian Arms Expo 2013 defense exhibition in Nizhny Tagil (Russia), the Russian Defense Company Uralvagonzavod has unveiled a new version of its Terminator, fire support armored fighting vehicle BMPT-72.

The BMPT-72 or Terminator 2 is fitted with a new unmanned redesigned fully stabilized electromechanical turret, with a lower profile and better protection. The main armament of the BMPT-72 turret consists of two 30mm automatic guns 2A42 and one PKTM 7.62mm coaxial machine gun which can be used against light armored vehicles and manpower.

The BMPT-72 hull and turret are made of steel armour and integrates the latest protection systems with explosive reactive armour (ERA) to the front of the turret, a detachable ERA module on the glacis plate and applique ERA on the sides of the hull and turret. The rear parts of the turret and the chassis are fitted with slat armour to increase protection against anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attacks.

BMPT-72 fire support tracked armored vehicles (Picture source Army Recognition)