T 90
T 90, www aviationlive org Online Aviation PicsVideos and Forum The T 90 is the newest main battle tank MBT in service with the Russian Ground Forces It is a further development of the T 72 with some of the features from the T 80 This new variant of the T 72 was originally called T 72BU but after poor performance of the T 72 in combat in the Persian Gulf War especially against western tanks such as the M1 Abrams M60 Patton Challenger 1 and in the First Chechen war it was decided to rename it to improve its chances on the export market The T 90 with an 840 hp 630 kW engine went into low level production in 1993 based on a prototype designated T 72BU The T 90 was developed by Russias Kartsev Venediktov Design Bureau at the Uralvagonzavod factory in Nizhny Tagil The T 90 features a new generation of Kontakt 5 explosive reactive armor on its hull and turret Two variants the T 90S and T 90E have been identified as possible export models By September 1995 some 107 T 90 tanks had been produced located in the Siberian Military District 1999 saw the appearance of a new model of T 90 featuring the fully welded turret of the Obyekt 187 experimental MBT instead of the original T 90s cast turret This new model is called Vladimir in honour of T 90 Chief Designer Vladimir Potkin who died in 1999 It is unknown how this design affects the protection and layout of the turret or whether the tanks hull armour layout was changed Currently there are 241 T 90 tanks serving in the Russian Ground Forcess 5th Guards Tank Division stationed in the Siberian Military District and seven T 90 tanks in the Navy On May 15 2006 Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Belousov announced that along with other purchases some thirty new T 90s will be produced for the Russian Army The T 90S version is in service with the Indian Army and the local production of T 90S Bhishma tanks will start in India in 2006 2007?? Bhishma also spelt as Bishma is a character from the Indian epic the Mahabharata In 2001 India bought 310 T 90S tanks from Russia of which 120 were delivered complete 90 in semi knocked down kits and 100 in completely knocked down kits T 90S were made by Uralvagonzavod and the uprated 1000 hp engines were delivered by Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant The T 90 was selected because it is a direct development of the T 72 which India already employs simplifying training and maintenance India bought the T 90 after the delay in production of the domestically developed Arjun main battle tank and to counter Pakistani deployment of the Ukrainian T 80UD in 1995 97 The deal between India and Russia estimated at a value of USD $750 million also included the complete transfer of T 90 technology and weapon systems to India With Russian and French assistance India developed an improved version of T 90S known as the Bhishma However India has reported that problems have arisen with the French designed thermal sights used on the T 90 due to intense desert heat In 2006 the Indian Government awarded the Ordnance Factory Board a USD $2 5 billion deal to manufacture 1000 T 90 Bhishma tanks for the Indian army On October 26 2006 India signed another deal with Russia for 800 million USD for 330 T 90S tanks