Vehicle is fitted with a deep wading kit, that can be installed by tank's crew within 20 minutes. It is worth mentioning that the original T-90 has a lower power-to-weight ration than most current MBTs, hence its vague mobility performance. This Russian MBT is also completed with an auxiliary power unit, which powers all systems, when the main engine is turned off. However soon after the introduction, production switched to improved versions, powered by a V-92 engine, developing 1 000 hp. Initially production T-90 tanks were powered by a V-84MS multi-fuel diesel engine, developing 840 horsepower. This tank is operated by a crew of three, including commander, gunner and driver. The T-90 lacks advanced sights with thermal vision, as well as panoramic commander's sight, which would allow to detect and engage targets faster. However currently it can not match similar systems of modern main battle tanks. Secondary armament consists of a coaxial 7.62 mm machine gun and a roof mounted remotely-controlled 12.7 mm machine gun, used against both ground and air targets.įire control system of the T-90 was adequate for the 1990s. Once the armor is penetrated it can trigger detonation of onboard ammunition. This drawback was common to all Cold War era Soviet main battle tanks. However remaining ammunition is stored in the main compartment, rather than a separate compartment with a blow-out panels. A total of 22 rounds are carried in the autoloader and are ready to fire. Main gun of the T-90 is completed with a carousel-type autoloader. These missiles will be even less accurate against moving targets. However judging by recent tank biathlons in Russia it turned out that these guided missiles have a hit probability against stationary targets of only around 50%. Maximum rate of fire is 6-8 rounds per minute. Missiles use a semi-automatic laser guidance and have a claimed hit probability of 80% at 4 000 m range and 70% at 5 000 m range. These missiles have a range of 4-5 km and can also engage low-flying helicopters. This tank can also launch 9M119M Refleks (NATO designation AT-11 Sniper-B) anti-tank guided missiles, in the same manner, as ordinary munitions. Armor penetration is around 590-630 mm at 2 000 m range.
Effective range of fire with APFSDS round is 2 000-3 000 m day and 2 000-2 600 m at night. The T-90 main battle tank is a armed with a fully-stabilized 2A46M 125 mm smoothbore gun. Early production tanks had a cast turret. Its protection is enhanced by Shtora-1 countermeasures system, which significantly reduces the chance of being hit by enemy anti-tank guided missiles with semi-automatic guidance. It has a welded composite armor hull with a built-in Kontakt-5 explosive reactive armor blocks. The T-90 MBT uses a well proven chassis of the T-72 and turret with all weapon systems of the T-80U. The T-90 saw action during the military conflicts in Ukraine and Syria. Iraq recently ordered 73 of these Russian main battle tanks. Production was planned to be completed in 2020. This Indian order included 248 tanks delivered from Russia, 409 tanks assembled locally from knock-down kits and another 1 000 tanks are being license-produced in India.
The largest export operator is India which ordered 1 657 T-90S tanks. Export operators are Algeria (305), Azerbaijan (114), Turkmenistan (40) and Venezuela (50~100). Currently it is the most commercially successful main battle tank on the global market. The T-90 is considered to be among the 10 best main battle tanks in the world. Also currently it is the only mass-produced MBT in Russia. It is the most modern tank currently in service with the Russian Army, which has a requirement for around 1 500 of these tanks.
Currently Russian Army operates around 750 - 1 000 of these MBTs of all variants. It was adopted by the Russian Army in 1993 and its low-rate production commenced in 1994. The T-90 Main Battle Tank (MBT) is a further development of the T-72.
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