The Internet is littered with pictures of disabled Russian tanks.
Not only a significant number of T-72s, T-80s have been taken out of action but at least
15 T-90s have also been destroyed as per Oryx, a project that records independently verifiable
losses throughout the conflict.
It is a bit surprising since the T-90 is considered to be one of the most dominant tanks in the
world and Russians have successfully exported it to several countries.
In this video Defense Updates analyzes why the much-vaunted Russian T-90 tanks are getting
neutralized in Ukraine?
Let's get started.
The
T-90 main battle tank (MBT) is an advanced version of the T-series of Russian tanks,
offering increased firepower, mobility and protection.
It is manufactured by Uralvagonzavod, a Russian original equipment manufacturer, in Nizhny
Tagil, Russia.
It entered service with the Russian Army in 1992.
The T-90 has a liquid-cooled V-84MS 618kW (840hp) four-stroke V-12 piston engine.
The T-90 tank is protected by both conventional armor-plating and Explosive-Reactive Armor.
It is fitted with the Shtora-1 defensive aids suite, which is produced by Electronintorg
of Russia.
The T-90 armament includes one 125mm 2A46M smoothbore gun that is stabiliZed in two axes
and fitted with a thermal vision.
While the specifications & capabilities are good, it is not indestructible.
Let us check 3 reasons for its below-expected performance.
The key weapon being used to engage the modern Russian Main Battle Tank by Ukrainian forces
is the American supplied FGM-148 Javelin.
The Javelin’s 127 mm shaped charge warhead can penetrate about 600 to 800 mm of Rolled
Hardened Armor (RHA).
With this kind of power, Javelin will fail to penetrate a decent modern tank’s armor.
But Javelin has a trick up its sleeves, what it lacks in power, it makes up for in tactics.
Javelin has a unique mode, the ‘top attack' mode by which it doesn’t hit the frontal
or side armor of a tank but it targets the top armor, which tends to be much thinner.
The missile has gyroscopes and gimbals that enable it to nosedive almost vertically onto
the infrared signature it was locked onto.
Many tanks like T-90 have explosive-reactive armor (ERA) to defeat this.
An ERA is designed to prematurely ignite the shaped charges used by missiles and disperse
the explosive power away from the tank.
But Javelin overcomes this defensive measure by using a tandem charge warhead, which has
a precharge that takes out the ERA layer before the main charge is engaged.
T-90 tanks are protected by Shtora-1 system.
Shtora-1 (meaning "curtain") is an electro-optical active protection system or suite for tanks,
designed to disrupt the laser designator and laser rangefinders of incoming anti-tank guided
missiles (ATGMs).
It is a soft-kill or passive-countermeasure system.
The Shtora-1 has four key components:
1.
A bank of forward-firing grenade launchers or dischargers is mounted on either side of
the turret, which can fire grenades dispensing an aerosol smoke screen opaque to infrared
light.
2.
A laser warning system with precision and coarse heads.
3.
A control system comprising a control panel, microprocessor, and manual screen-laying panel.
This processes the information from the sensors and activates the aerosol screen-laying system.
4.
Two infrared lights, one on each side of the main gun, continuously emit coded pulsed-infrared
jamming when an incoming ATGM has been detected.
The Shtora system can locate the area within 3.5–5 degrees where the laser originated
from and automatically turn the main gun to it, so that the tank crew can return fire
and so that the stronger frontal turret armor is facing it.
But as evident, the system has not worked as theorized and a lot of optimization still
needs to be done to perfect it.
Research from the Modern War Institute at West Point, points out,
“Shtora has no effect on Javelins or recoilless rifles.
When targeting a vehicle with Shtora, gunners using the ITAS (improved target acquisition
system) should never directly laser the tank with the range finder, instead of targeting
a patch of ground three vehicle lengths away.
This will allow the gunner to avoid being detected by Shtora.”
No tank is full proof - they need proper infantry and aerial support for effective operation.
Russians have made tactical mistakes like moving tanks through highways which expose
them to easy detection and being ambushed from roadside hideouts.
It is hard for any tank crew to spot an Anti-tank or RPG gunner who is hiding behind a pile
of rubble and in such places dismounted infantry plays a crucial role.
In many videos, it can be seen that there is no such approach taken.
It is also evident from the examination of several footage that Russian columns of troops
moved forward beyond the reach of their own air defense cover which exposed them to attacks.
Several times Russian convoys have even been ambushed by Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drones
which should have been taken out in advance by Russian aircraft or air defense systems.