On September 1, 1999, V. B. Domnin, colonel of the RF Armed Forces, talented engineer, leader of a new formation. He had to continue work on the T-90 tank. The "Indian" contract stimulated work to improve the machine and did not let tank production in Russia die. Uralvagonzavod worked out new technologies for the production of towers, began to restore the contractor network and, in general, was ready to fulfill new orders, including for the Russian Army. Finally, for 2004, the military ordered … 14 tanks, while sending the manufacturer into deep thoughts on the topic: "What does the customer want to get?" The T-90, which was put into service in 1992, is clearly outdated, and the army did not test anything else and did not accept it for service!
It should be recalled that in the days of the USSR, before adopting not only a new combat vehicle, but even its next modification, comprehensive and large-scale tests were carried out. This process was long and very complicated. And here is an order for 14 units of "Object 188" and no explanation. Making a T-90 ("Object 188") of the 1992 model is already physically impossible due to the lack of entire production facilities, but what then does the military mean by this object number? Intensive correspondence with the customer began and additional technical specifications were received. As a result, the appearance of a new vehicle for the Russian Army began to take shape.
It was based on the design and developments on the tank for India. The situation was indeed somewhat paradoxical: for decades the USSR was exporting versions of the vehicles that were in service with its army, "cut down" in some parameters, and now India gets a tank that is qualitatively superior to everything that is in Russia's arsenal!
The designers of the UKBTM tried to invest in the new machine all the latest achievements, developments and operating experience. The control system of the new tank was built around the Essa gunner's thermal imaging sight and the modernized sighting and observation complex of the commander TO 1-K04 Agat-MR. The improved ballistic computer 1V216M was used. The V-92S2 diesel engine, already tested in India, was adopted as a power plant.
The vehicle protection complex ensures that the frontal projection is immune to all modern anti-tank weapons. The VLD unit of the hull was reinforced. The thickness of the armor of the front part of the hull roof increased by about 20 mm, and the side and stern protection of domestic tanks of the post-war generations was and remains traditionally at a higher level compared to foreign models.
The modernized complex of optical-electronic countermeasures "Shtora" was installed on the machine. Analyzing the experience of battles in Chechnya and in other regional conflicts, the developers implemented a set of measures to strengthen the local protection of the vehicle's elements vulnerable to RPG fire and thermal camouflage. Firepower has increased due to the installation of an improved 2A46M5 cannon with improved characteristics of internal and external ballistics.
By the time Uralvagonzavod received an order from the Russian Army, the implementation of all the envisaged measures had not yet been implemented. In addition, there were financial constraints. "Pseudo-serial" production of tanks had to be carried out, relying on temporary technical conditions agreed with the customer. At the same time, the correspondence indicated individual points of measures for the ROC, which certainly had to be implemented on the ordered machines. However, such a decision is fully consistent with the ideology of the evolutionary development and production of armored vehicles in Nizhny Tagil. The entire ordered batch of 14 units, albeit with some delay, was handed over to military acceptance at the beginning of 2005. The Russian Army has been replenished with really new tanks. In the same year, the improved modification was officially adopted. The vehicles, which had the factory designation "Object 188A1", received the army name "T-90A".
Tank T-90A in the assembly shop of the Uralvagonzavod. January 2005
T-90A tank with Essa sight on field trials. June 2006
Tanks T-90A on exercises in the suburbs
Tank T-90A of 2004 release. The armor of the Buran-M sight is clearly visible.
In 2005, Uralvagonzavod, in accordance with the provisions of the state budget, FULFILLED an order for another 18 T-90A tanks [4]. Distinctive features of these 30 linear vehicles (out of 32 tanks ordered in 2004-2005, two vehicles were in the command version) were the installation of the upgraded T01-K05 Buran-M night sighting system and the introduction of the improved Shtora-1 KOEP. The design of the case has undergone less radical changes.
Since 2006, a machine has been in production with all the design improvement measures stipulated by the project. By this time, the debugging of the technology and the restoration of cooperation ties were basically completed. All this allowed Uralvagonzavod to complete the 2006 production program in the amount of a battalion set (31 vehicles) ahead of schedule. In 2007, 31 tanks were also produced, and the next year the completed order amounted to two battalion sets - 62 vehicles; the same number were made in 2009. The order in 2009, according to the press service of Uralvagonzavod, was also completed ahead of schedule - by the beginning of December [5]. Thus, for the period from 2004 to 2009 inclusive, 30T-90A was assembled (with "Buran-M"); 180 T-90A (from Essa); two T-90K (cast tower, with "Buran-M") and six T-90AK (welded tower, with "Essa").
Machines produced in 2004-2006. entered service with the 2nd Guards Motorized Rifle Taman Order of the October Revolution of the Red Banner Order of Suvorov of the M. I. Kalinin, quartered in the suburbs. In the course of the transformations of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, this division was disbanded on May 15, 2009, and on its basis the 5th motorized rifle brigade of the Moscow Military District was created. T-90A tanks of this division took part in parades on Red Square in 2008-2010.
T-90A produced in 2007-2009 entered the recruitment of the 131st Maykop motorized rifle brigade, hastily transferred to Abkhazia after the events of August 2008, the 141st separate tank battalion (brigade) of the 19th med and the 428th detachment of the 20th med of the North Caucasus Military District. Some of the vehicles ended up in training centers, in particular, in the Omsk Tank Engineering Institute.
Tank T-90A with an Essa sight and a modernized TSHU complex.
Currently, the T-90A is a perfect example of a main battle tank and meets all modern requirements for combat vehicles of this class. The T-90A is characterized by an optimal combination of combat, operational characteristics and cost. In terms of its combat characteristics, it is on a par with modern tanks produced by the leading world powers: the USA, Germany, France and Great Britain. At the same time, it compares favorably with the tanks of these countries both in the cost of the vehicle itself and in the cost of its operation. Serious competitors of the T-90A in the price niche are the Chinese, Pakistani and Ukrainian MBTs, as well as tanks obtained through the modernization of the T-72 with the assistance of leading Western weapons manufacturers. However, in this case, the T-90A has superiority in terms of protection and overall survival of the crew, as well as exceptional technical reliability, which is traditionally given the most attention in the UKBTM. The combination of all the above qualities makes the T-90A the best production tank of the first half of the 21st century.
T-90SA: security guarantee
In 2005, representatives of Algeria, followed by Libya, attracted by the advertising promises of Ukraine, familiarized themselves with its proposals in the field of military-technical cooperation. However, the unstable political situation in Ukraine, on the one hand, and the successful implementation of the armored contract between Russia and India, on the other, forced the representatives of Algeria and Libya to pay attention to the products of Uralvagonzavod - T-90S tanks. It is pertinent to add that when studying the proposals of the Ukrainian side, potential customers were already well aware of similar proposals from Russia. During the visit of the Algerian president to Moscow in April 2001, the problem of modernizing the T-72 tanks in service with the army of this country was also discussed. On January 28, 2004, on the territory of the GDVTs FSUE NTIIM, a demonstration of the capabilities of Russian technology to representatives of Libya took place, and on March 24-25 of the same year, a delegation of Algeria.
Tank T-90SA at the Ural MetalExpo exhibition in Nizhny Tagil. September 2006
A big plus of the Russian proposals was the availability of flexible but comprehensive MBT solutions, a ready-made program for the modernization of the fleet of previously released vehicles, the possibility of supplying a complex of engineering vehicles and support vehicles on a single base with improved characteristics (for example, an increase in the carrying capacity and boom reach of the ARV). Taking as a basis the project of the T-90S tank of the 1999 model, supplied to India, the Ural Design Bureau of Transport Engineering carried out its revision to the requirements of the new customer. The representatives of Algeria, negotiating through Rosoboronexport, were presented with about a dozen options for the configuration of the machine, based on different values of the "cost-effectiveness" parameter.
Installation of a thermoelectric air conditioner on the turret of a T-90SA tank.
Taking into account the experience of operating the T-90S "Bishma" in the hot climate of India, the initial version of the machine was chosen with the installation of an air conditioning system, as well as with a modified system for detecting laser radiation. This version received the factory index "Object 188SA" ("A" for Algeria) and the military designation T-90SA. A prototype of the machine was manufactured in May 2005. At the end of the same year, it successfully passed tests in Algeria, including the harsh desert conditions. In January 2006, during the visit of the President of the Russian Federation V. V. Putin to Algeria, the Russian "Rosoboronexport" signed a package of agreements for the supply of various weapons, including armored ones. Within four years, the Russian side was supposed to supply Algeria with 185 T-90S A tanks and their commander version of the T-90SAK, as well as modernize 250 T-72M / M1 tanks to the T-72M1M level by Russian specialists, but at local Algerian production sites. … In addition, the contracts provided for the supply of a batch of BREM-1M repair and recovery vehicles equipped with air conditioning, as well as simulators. The first batch of 40 tanks was supposed to be delivered by the end of 2006.
However, the fulfillment of this condition met some organizational difficulties, as a result of which, instead of 40 vehicles in 2006, only 30 T-90SA tanks were sent. The following year, supplies to Algeria amounted to 102 vehicles, and in 2008 - 53 tanks. Thus, despite some claims to the Russian side, the contract was fulfilled ahead of schedule and quite successfully. The essence of the claims was that the machines were equipped with allegedly used equipment. The scandal caused by the supply of substandard MiG fighters forced the Algerian side to be picky about the acceptance of tanks. According to some reports, Algeria is currently negotiating the purchase of another batch of Russian cars.
In the summer of 2009, a contract was signed for the supply of several T-90S to Turkmenistan. Its peculiarity was the urgency: the delivery of a batch of tanks was carried out in August. The machines, supplied under the T-90S brand, in their technical appearance basically corresponded to the modifications for Algeria.
Libya became the next potential buyer of the T-90S. The desire to acquire Russian tanks was finalized by the summer of 2006 - also after a successful demonstration and test program at the customer's site. In addition to the above modifications, vehicles intended for Libya are likely to have an SEMZ (electromagnetic protection system against mines with magnetic fuses). It is planned to equip tanks with mine sweepers with an electromagnetic attachment (protection against mines with radio fuses) and camouflage kits "Cape". In any case, a car in a similar configuration was shown to the Libyans at the exhibition "Russia Expo Arms-2006".
At the same exhibition, the Libyan delegation showed great interest in the BMR-3M combat vehicle designed by the UKBTM and in the humanitarian demining vehicle of the MGR NP developed by SKB-200 FNPC "Stanko-mash". This interest testifies to the great attention of the Libyan military leaders to the threat of mine warfare and an integrated approach to equipping armored forces with vehicles that have a single unified base.
But during the negotiation process, it turned out that the cost of the T-90S is somewhat high, as a result of which in the future it was already a question of purchasing a modernized T-72 tank. For the same reason, Peru (in favor of the Chinese MBT-20Q8) and Venezuela (in favor of the modernized T-72) refused to purchase the T-90S, although in technical terms, the T-90S was preferred at all stages.
Almost simultaneously with Algeria and Libya, Saudi Arabia showed interest in the T-90S. Comparative tests involving a Russian tank were carried out in the Arabian Desert in 2006. The Saudi side was pleased with the results and is currently preparing a contract. Morocco, Yemen and Brazil were next in line for the T-90S. According to unofficial data, Iran is showing interest in the procurement and licensed production of the T-90S, while Bangladesh, the Philippines and the new Iraqi government were involved in exploring the possibility of acquisition. According to Forecast International, an American analytical center specializing in military research, the T-90 tanks will continue to dominate the international armored weapons market in the next decade.
Evolution continues
The statements of Forecast International are not a reason for the complacency of the Ural tank builders. Currently, the improvement of the basic model continues. The new modification of the T-90 is an initiative development of the Ural Design Bureau of Transport Engineering, providing for the creation of a unified fighting compartment for the modernization of T-90 tanks. MBT, which we will conditionally call "T-90M", is distinguished, first of all, by a completely new design of the tower, the protection of which is practically devoid of weakened vulnerable zones and is all-round. Not only the frontal, but also the lateral projection, as well as the stern, are significantly better protected. The most important thing in terms of protection is the reinforced roof protection.
The promising machine has an improved MSA. Its feature is the inclusion of the commander in the three-channel thermal imaging panoramic sight. During the development of the LMS, we used the developments obtained in the course of the very successful R&D "Frame-99" and "Slingshot-1", as well as in the process of working on the T-90 versions for Algeria. Noteworthy are the smaller dimensions of the sights and their very serious protection against small-caliber artillery fire, bullets and fragments of large-caliber shells. This is especially noticeable against the background of the Ukrainian Oplot-M tank presented in March 2009. In general, special attention is paid to the visibility of the T-90M.
Good working conditions have been created for the crew - the ergonomics of Tagil vehicles are constantly improving.
The tank can be equipped with both 2A46M5 guns and a completely new weapon with seriously improved ballistic characteristics - 2A82. The upgraded tank can be equipped with a new automatic loader, designed for large-aspect-ratio BPS, and a container for additional ammunition is provided in the rear of the turret. In our opinion, this is not the right decision, but it is in line with the latest standards of international armored fashion.
A prototype of a promising tank based on the T-90, presented at the Staratel training ground on December 8, 2009.
Auxiliary weapons were not left unattended either. The ZPU was replaced by a remote-controlled autonomous machine-gun mount of 7.62 mm caliber. The "T-90M" also has new secure communication systems, a navigation system, integration into the automated control system is foreseen.
At present, only the tower has been manufactured by the UKBTM pilot production facility. On December 8, 2009 the T-90M tank was presented by V. V. Putin before a meeting on the development of Russian tank building, which took place in the "tank capital" of Russia - the city of Nizhny Tagil. To demonstrate to the Prime Minister, the tower, as befits a combat module, was easily installed on the first chassis of the T-90 type that came across. This explains the presence on the hull of the shown Kontakt-V explosive reactive armor instead of Relikt, which is one of the most promising in terms of modernizing T-72 and T-90 tanks. This complex makes it possible to increase the already very strong projectile protection of the T-90 by 1, 4 times for the BPS and 2, 1 times increases the anti-cumulative resistance.
The reality of today is a unified MTO with a V-92S2 diesel engine, however, in order to improve the operational characteristics of the UKBTM, together with the Chelyabinsk enterprises ChTZ and Elektromashina, they are working on the introduction of a monoblock power plant based on a V-shaped 1000-horsepower turbodiesel V-92S2 (or its formed version B-99 with a capacity of 1200 hp), steering control systems using the steering wheel and automatic gear shifting.
Chief designer V. B. Domnin in the assembly shop of the Uralvagonzavod demonstrates T-90A tanks to the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation V. V. Putin. December 8, 2009
The next demonstration of the upgraded tank to the leadership of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Defense is planned to be carried out at the exhibition "Russian Defense Expo-2010", which will be held from 14 to 17 July at the State Demonstration and Exhibition Center FKP NTIIM in Nizhny Tagil. The successful demonstration of the new Russian combat vehicle to the leadership of the state and the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation will undoubtedly give a new impetus to work on the radical rearmament of the Russian Army with qualitatively new equipment, which, in turn, helps to strengthen the export potential of domestic engineering and increase interest in Russian tanks. The demonstration at the Eurosatory-2010 exhibition of new versions of the Leopard and Merkava tanks demonstrates a tendency towards a radical modernization of proven designs. Therefore, it can be argued that Russian tank building is confidently and inseparably going along a parallel course with world leaders. The ideology and solutions embodied in the new promising tank by the designers from Nizhny Tagil fully correspond to the new products implemented by the German tank builders in the design under the motto "MBT Revolution".
In conclusion, it should be emphasized that the T-90 series tanks are characterized by:
- optimal adaptability for conducting combat operations in extreme situations;
- exceptional reliability of all components and assemblies, mechanisms and complexes;
- excellent mobility and maneuverability regardless of any climatic and road conditions, including in conditions of high dustiness and high mountains;
- minimal costs for training highly qualified specialists.
The Russian T-90 missile and gun tank, which has embodied the most advanced scientific and technical solutions in its design, is in no way inferior to the best tanks of foreign countries in terms of the combination of combat and technical characteristics and the possibility of modern combat, and surpasses them in a number of essential parameters.
