JRTC VISMOD: T-90 Russian Main Battle Tank (MBT)
T-90
The T-90 is a third-generation Russian battle tank that entered service in 1993. The tank is a modern variation of the T-72B and incorporates many features found on the T-80U. Originally called the T-72BU, but later renamed to T-90, it is an advanced tank in service with Russian Ground Forces and the Naval Infantry. The T-90 uses a 125 mm 2A46 smoothbore main gun, the 1A45T fire-control system, an upgraded engine, and gunner's thermal sight. Standard protective measures include a blend of steel and composite armour, smoke grenade dischargers, Kontakt-5 explosive-reactive armour and the Shtora infrared ATGM jamming system. It was designed and built by Uralvagonzavod, in Nizhny Tagil, Russia. Since 2011, the Russian armed forces have ceased any further orders for the T-90, and are instead increasing their numbers of the T-14 Armata that began production in 2016. Variants T-90: Successor to T-72BM, originally called T-72BU, with fire control and armor upgrades similar to those on the T-80U. Despite using the lower cost T-72 chassis, this tank incorporated more recent components than the T-80U and is in some ways superior. The original tank had an II night sight, not the thermal sight upgrade, and the under-powered 840hp engine. Upgrades have been added. T-90A: originally known as T-90SM or T-90M, it is now accepted for Russian service as the standard tank. T-90MS: export variant: improved armor protection and ERA; remote control weapon station on turret rook with 12.7 mm MG; traverse forward 316 degrees; elevate -10 to +45 degree. Improved fire control system for engagement of stationary and moving targets while tank is moving. TC panoramic sight for TC-gunner display linked to laser rangefinder; thermal and 4 television camera-each 95 degree wide/45 degree elev. Improved battle management and land navigation tracking system. External auxiliary diesel power unit for fuel conservation. Some reserve main gun ammo in bustle with blowout panels. Turret and hull rear with bar (lourve) armor; anti-laser warning and protection. 125 mm main gun improved accuracy with 2A46M-5 rather than previous 2A46M in T-90s. T-90S: export variant with option for upgrades. Several subsystem changes, such as upgraded FCS, new engine, removal of SHTORA-1, etc., have been added based on customer preferences, and are included in export versions of the tank. Some early T-90S have been upgraded to this standard. Most of these are being sold to India, with the 1,000hp engine upgrade, and with addition of air conditioning. T-90SK: T-90S command variant Bhishma: Indian variant produced from T-90A knockdown kits. It does not use the SHTORA-1 IRCM system. Engine is T-90A upgrade. The tank is sometimes erroneously called T-90S. Various stages of upgrades will be employed in Indian forces. Russia has provided T-90S tanks with Indian intent to upgrade almost all of its T-90 and T-90S remaining versions in knock-down kits with upgrades to meet the Bhishma standard. An issue remains of no air conditioning system in some export MBT to India cause overHEATing of system components and debilitating environment for tank crew in some environments. Project Rhino: most T-90 and T-90S tanks imported by India to be upgraded as Bhishma under this program and agreement with Russia. Other upgrade versions of the T-72 include features of the T-90A such as the improved gun stabilization, improved fire control system, improved engine, and improved ammunition such as the Ainet and the Invar. Other tanks which provide similar capabilities are the Ukrainian T-72AG and T-72mp. The Czech T-72CZM4 also has a 2nd generation thermal sight. Recent Russian tank upgrade packages for the T-72 are the T-72M1, and the T-72M1M. The above Russian upgrades are for modernizing older tanks, versus T-90/T-90A, which are newly produced tanks. Upgraded T-80U, T80UK, and T-84 tanks also have similar capabilities. Weapons & Ammunition Types And Typical Combat Load 125-mm smoothbore gun (est): 43 APFSDS-T: 14 HEAT-MP/HEAT: 3 Frag-HE: 12 Focused Frag Ainet (available) :8 ATGM: 6 Main Armament Ammunition Caliber, Type, Name: 125-mm APFSDS-T, BM-42M Maximum Aimed Range (m): 3,000-4,000 Max Effective Range (m): Day: 3,000-4000 Night: 2,600 Armor Penetration (mm KE): 590-630 at 2,000 meters 125-mm HEAT-MP, BK-29m Maximum Aimed Range (m): 4,000 Max Effective Range (m): Day: 4,000 Night: 2,600 Armor Penetration (mm CE): 650-750 it has some HE effects similar to Frag-HE rounds against personnel and materiel targets. 125-mm HEAT, BK-27 Maximum Aimed Range (m): 4,000 Max Effective Range (m): Day: 3,000+ Night: 2,600 Armor Penetration (mm CE): 700-800 125-mm HE-shrapnel Focused-Fragmentation, Ainet Maximum Aimed Range (m): 5,200 Max Effective Range (m): Day: 5,000 Night: 2,600 Tactical AA Range: 4,000-5,000 Armor Penetration (mm): can defeat IFV and APC 125-mm Frag-HE-t, of-26 Maximum Aimed Range (m): 5,000 Max Effective Range (m): Day: 5,000 Night: 2,600 Armor Penetration (mm): can defeat IFV and APC. A near miss will seriously damage or destroy most IFVs and APCs. Other Ammunition Types: French Giat 125G1 APFSDS-T, Russian BM-42 and bm-32 APFSDS-T. Note: the Russians may have a version of the BM-42M with a DU penetrator. Russian BM-48 APFSDS-T penetrates 650-700 mm Sokol-1 Guided Antitank Round Antitank guided missiles: AT-11B/INVAR Warhead Type: tandem shaped charge (HEAT) Armor Penetration (mm CE): 900, 850 behind ERA Range (m): Day: 5,000 Night: 2,600 AT-11/Refleks: missile with Frag-HE warhead to 5,000 m Notes T-90AM: the Russian military decided against T90A for its forces. In SEP 2011, they displayed T-90AM as a deep modernization of T-90A. They include a low-profile turret with a bustle autoloader and blow-out panels. The new 2a82 gun fires a longer (700+ mm est) and heavier APFSDS-T round to 3,500+ m. The original version of the tank has an 840-hp diesel engine. The engine in subsequent models is upgraded. Engine options include 950, 1,000 and 1,100 hp. The original tank had an II sight from the T-80 series (Buran-PA, 800-1300 meters range). However, marketing materials feature the Agava-2 thermal sight. Recent Gen3 sights are available. These night sights permit night launch of ATGMs. Relikt 3d gen ERA is offered to replace Kontakt-5 in several upgrade packages, or as a separate upgrade. The ERA adds up to 600 mm CE protection and 300 mm KE to turret base armor protection, or about 150 mm more than Kontakt-5. Active protection systems. Arena APS is available. Defensive aides suite is Shtora-1 (laser warning receiver with gun auto-slew, LWR-directed smoke grenade launchers, and EO-IR jammer), or partial package excluding IR jammers. None is on Bhishma. The Shtora-1 IR ATGM countermeasure illuminators can be detected with night sights. Shtora-1 has no effect against most modern ATGM systems, with encoded tracker beacons. Exclusion of Shtora-1 offers more ERA on the turret front and reduces costs. Protection probably includes radar-absorbent materials and IR-resistant paint. The T-90 may be fielded with full Shtora-1 package (laser warning receiver with auto-slew gun capability, LWR-directed smoke grenade launchers, and EO-IR jammer), with a partial package, or without Shtora-1. Shtora-1 illuminators can be used for night illumination. An improved gun, 2A46M-4, with improved accuracy and use life is available for fitting to the T-90. The BK-29 round, with a hard penetrator in the nose is designed for use against reactive armor, and as an MP round has fragmentation effects. The BK-27 HEAT round offers a triple-shaped charge warhead and 50mm more penetration. The 12.7-mm MG NSVT has both remote electronically operated sight PZU-5 with vertical stabilization, night acquisition, and a gun-mounted K10-T reflex sight.