Russia installs T-90M armor on 60-year-old tank

Old Russian T-62 tanks are equipped with explosive reactive armor and many advanced devices originally produced for the T-90M model.

On November 26, Ukraine's Focus website posted a photo showing a T-62MV tank, an upgraded variant of the T-62 medium tank, equipped with explosive reactive armor on the turret, similar to the T-90 main battle tank.

This T-62 can also be equipped with Sosna-U sight or domestic product PNM-T, smoke grenade launcher system disguised as T-90M and some other modern equipment.

"With new reactive armor and a modern sight for the gunner operating the 115mm main gun, this can be considered the most comprehensively upgraded T-62," Forbes editor David Axe commented.

The T-90, one of the most modern tanks in service with the Russian army today, uses Kontakt-5 explosive reactive armor. The upgraded T-90M variant is equipped with Relikt armor, which can reduce the penetration ability of low-caliber armor-piercing shells (APFSDS) or dual-charge shaped-charge anti-tank (HEAT) warheads by 50%.

T-62MV tank with new explosive reactive armor in photo released on November 26. Photo: X/2S7 Pion — T-62MV tank with new explosive reactive armor in photo released on November 26. Photo: *X/2S7 Pion*

"Explosive reactive armor will automatically activate, creating an explosion that deflects incoming projectiles. This armor essentially doubles the tank's protection against certain high-explosive rounds," Axe said.

However, equipping the T-62 with reactive armor will affect the tank's mobility. The new reactive armor weighs about three tons, making the T-62MV weigh more than 45 tons and become heavier on the battlefield. It is not clear whether Russia will replace the tank with a new engine to increase mobility.

According to editor Axe, mobility is important in the blitzkrieg tactics of tanks that both Russia and Ukraine use. "Western-made tanks like the M1A1 and Leopard 2 have an advantage because they have good transmissions and can reverse quickly, not taking tens of seconds to turn around and escape the line of fire," said Axe.

The T-62 tank was developed by the Soviet Union in the early 1960s to counter the British FV4201 Chieftain and the American M60 Patton, replacing the T-55 medium tank in service. Production took place from 1961 to 1975, with a total of nearly 23,000 units produced.

In the early 1980s, the Soviet Union began a modernization program for the T-62, with the T-62M version introduced in 1983 equipped with additional frontal armor, giving it a defensive capability roughly equivalent to the T-64A and T-72 main battle tanks. However, this armor could not withstand modern anti-tank weapons used on the battlefield in Ukraine.

Nguyen Tien (According to Forbes )

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