It must be admitted that the T-72 main battle tank, created in the 70s of the last century and which is represented by thousands of units around the world, is still the most used today. It has a successful design and is armed with the now popular 125mm smoothbore cannon with a full automatic loader. The optimal angle of inclination of the armor and the low silhouette of the T-72 tank make it a truly formidable combat vehicle, which is difficult to hit and very difficult to destroy.
However, along with the merits, the T-72 also has significant drawbacks. Despite the fact that its auto-charged gun provides a high rate of fire, which exceeds similar guns installed on tanks of other states, this advantage is leveled by the presence of outdated optical devices, fire control systems, computers, sensors and communication equipment of this tank. In addition, its main armor protection cannot always withstand the latest generation of anti-tank weapon systems. In order to bring the T-72 to a level that meets modern requirements for protection and interaction on the battlefield, many armies go to invest money in the modernization of tanks, this allows them to get at their disposal a combat vehicle that is unique in its tactical and technical data at minimal cost.
The armies of the former Warsaw Pact are in a special position. Seeking to unite with Western security organizations, they recognize the need to bring their own armored vehicles to the technical level of their former potential adversaries. The main problem is that most states do not have the financial resources to implement this by purchasing new machines. The only and most realistic way out is the modernization and so-called "westernization" (improvement according to the Western model) of the best-developed tanks in the USSR, which they currently have in service, that is, the T-72 tanks.
The most striking example in this matter is the situation with the modernization of the T-72 in Slovakia. After the collapse of Czechoslovakia, the new state of Slovakia faced the problem of providing its own armed forces with modern tanks that would meet the requirements for protection and control. As a result, it was decided to modernize the T-72, which were previously produced on the territory of the state under the license of the USSR. After evaluating the proposals of various Western companies, the French company SFIM was selected as the main partner for cooperation, and the Belgian company SABCA was the main supplier of components. An important agreement was also signed, which guaranteed the participation of the Slovak industry in the modernization of the tank and providing 40% of the production of all components.
The first fruit of this international collaboration already at the end of 1994 was the development of the VEGA and VEGA + improvement programs. These programs, first of all, provided for the installation on the tank of completely new automated LMS manufactured by the Belgian company SABCA without making any changes to the turret or technical equipment of the tank. The samples of the main tanks T-72M1, improved by the VEGA and VEGA + programs, were assembled in 1996 and received the symbol T-72M1-A. In addition to the above-mentioned installation of the new LMS, DYNA DZ was mounted on these tanks. To maintain the maneuverability of the combat vehicle at the same level, this is due to the fact that after the installation of the DZ the mass of the tank increased by 3.5 tons, it was decided to install a new S-12U engine, which is a Polish forced version of the standard V-46 diesel engine.
In 1995, Slovakia presented another modernization of the T-72M1 tanks carried out under the LYRA program. The combat vehicles improved in accordance with it received the symbol T-72M2 "Moderna" (Moderna). A feature of these tanks is the completely new SRP MSA, which gives equal opportunities for both the tank commander and the gunner in using a tank gun. In addition to elements taken from the previously upgraded T-72M1 tank, the new FCS has a built-in panoramic sight for the MVS580 tank commander, a TIGS gunner's thermal imaging sight, improved sensors for monitoring firing conditions, and a multiprocessor electronic turret control unit.
The first prototypes of the T-72M2 "Modern" tanks, in addition to the 125-mm smoothbore cannon, were additionally armed with two 20-mm fully automatic Oerlikon-Contraves KAA-001 cannons, which were simultaneously mixed in a vertical plane. In order to increase the degree of protection of the combat vehicle, it is equipped with a second-generation dynamic protection DYNA-S and a warning system about being in the field of laser irradiation LIRD-4D. This modification of the tank is being actively promoted for export deliveries, but despite all the efforts made, orders from foreign customers have not been received for it.
The advantages of the T-72M2 "Modern" are its relatively low price and the ability to manufacture all the component parts of the machine at Slovak enterprises. Among the identified shortcomings - a weak engine (almost 150 hp less power in comparison with the Ukrainian 6TD), which, with the same mass as the T-72MP, worsens mobile qualities, simplified electronic equipment, a small angle of elevation of an additional 30-mm artillery mount (30 °), which makes it almost impossible to conduct effective fire on the upper floors of buildings or aerial targets.
