In the last few weeks a significant turnaround has been seen the Ukraine - Russia conflict
with Russian Forces having to retreat from several places.
Some of these pullbacks have not been done in orderly manner and these has resulted in
Russian forces leaving behind large cache of weapons. While all these will be very useful
, a particular one, is possibly one of the most prized capture.
The Ukrainian military got hold of the most modern Russian Т-90М “Proryv 3” ( (Breakthrough-3)
) tank in the Kharkiv Region. The photos of the captured tank were published
by the Ukrainian tankman on his Shawshank Redemption Youtube channel.
The Т-90М “Proryv” tank fell into the Ukrainian forces without visible damage.
Most likely, the tank was abandoned by the Russian military during a hasty retreat from
the Kharkiv Region.
In this video Defense Updates analyzes why capture of T-90M Main Battle Tank in Ukraine
is catastrophe for Russia? Let's get into the details.
For the first time, the involvement of Russian forces in the Kharkiv Region with Т-90М
tanks became known in April.
The first Т-90М tank was destroyed by the Ukrainian force on 2 May 2022, on the outskirts
of the village of Staryi Saltiv, Kharkiv Region.
While it was great moral booster since it was clear that even the most modern Russian
platforms could be taken out, a captured example of such an advance system unlike a destroyed
one has much greater value since it can give a lot of insights.
Importantly , the captured tank is also equipped with a stealth camouflage known as Nakidka.
So, it is a fully armed example and a prized catch.
The Uralvagonzavod designed T-90M is an upgraded version of the T-90 Tank, first introduced
in the early 1990s as an offshoot of the T-72, featuring improvements in terms of protection,
mobility, and firepower.
As per reports , upgrades to the tank were made from the combat experience of the Russian
Armed forces gained in Syria. The Russian Army tested it during the military exercise
Zapad-2017.
The initial batch of production T-90M tanks were only issued to the 2nd Guards M. I. Kalinin
Taman Motor Rifle Division of the 1st Guards Tank Army in the spring of 2020.
So, it is a pretty new machine. Estimates indicate that around 100 of these
are currently in service in total.
Since the much hyped but still not serial produced T-14 Armata Main Battle Tanks are
unavailable for combat duties, T-90M is currently the potent Russian tank in service.
Many technical advances have been incorporated in the T-90M.
1. It has improved armor protection with Relikt built-in Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA) in
place of the previous Kontakt-5. Relikt is designed to better protect against shaped
charges and significantly reduce the impact of the impact armor-piercing fin-stabilized
discarding sabot (APFSDS) rounds. 2. T-90M features net armor on the lower part
of its turret and slat armor at its rear to improve its defenses against rocket-propelled
grenades by disrupting the fusing of the warhead. 3. The tank also has a countermeasures system,
which triggers smoke grenade launchers that can help conceal the vehicle if it is being
illuminated by a laser beam. This reduces the probability of being hit by enemy anti-tank
guided weapons. 4. It is fitted with NBC (Nuclear, Biological
& Chemical) protection and automatic fire suppression systems. The tank’s interior
is lined with spall liner to stop projectiles and small fragments and minimize the damage
inside the vehicle in case of a hit by a lethal armament which couldn't be completely stopped.
5. The T-90M features an improved 2A46M-4 125mm smoothbore main gun, which has a longer
range and is said to be 15-20% more accurate than the standard 2A46M gun of the T-90. The
gun can fire APFSDS, HE, and HE-FRAG rounds, plus the 9M119 Refleks anti-tank guided missiles
that have a range of 5 km or 3.1 miles and can also engage low-flying helicopters.
6. The sensor and fire control systems have also been upgraded . The new Russian Tank
has a hunter-killer engagement capability. 7. Nakidka camouflage is thought to be able
to increase the survivability of tank to a great extent since reduces the infrared, thermal,
and radar signatures.
Russian army was supposed to be an unstoppable force before the beginning of the conflict.
But more than 200 days of Ukrainian resistance has dented its reputation a great deal. The
aura has greatly reduced.
The capture T-90M is not just a battlefield loss but also has much larger implications.
Earlier a Krasuha-4 is which mobile, ground-based, electronic warfare (EW) platform was captured.
The Telegraph reported at that time that the seized unit will be examined by Western agencies,
adding that it would likely be taken by road to the US Air Force's Ramstein Air Base in
Germany, before being flown to the US.
T-90M will most likely have a similar path. This means that the West will be able to evaluate
the real capabilities of the system, learn a lot about the standard of technology being
fielded in Russia and develop countermeasures if required.
This surely is a disaster for Russia.