A rare export modification of the T-90S tank has appeared in service with the Russian military, featuring an elegant "gazebo"-type anti-drone cage and rear protection made from barrier fencing taken from a highway. Photos of the combat vehicle went viral online.
The tank's main feature is the "Essa" gunner's thermal imaging sight with a French Thales Catherine FC matrix. Such a photodetector is capable of detecting a "tank"-type target or an IFV at a range of up to 4 km, and reliably identifying it at a distance of up to 3.7 km.
In terms of frontal projection protection, the T-90S is only slightly inferior to the T-90M "Proryv". The turret's resistance to armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot rounds, taking into account the "Kontakt-5" explosive reactive armor, is estimated at 950–1050 mm.
The tank is armed with a 125 mm 2A46M-5 smoothbore gun capable of firing "Svinets-2" rounds with armor penetration of about 780 mm.
As a reminder, Russia supplied T-90S tanks to India and earned up to 6 billion dollars from this, as noted by Ivan Grachev, chief research fellow at the Central Economic and Mathematical Institute of the RAS. According to him, one unit costs up to five million dollars.
The main battle tank of this series in service with the Russian army is the T-90M, which has begun to be equipped with "Arena-M" explosive reactive armor. Rostec noted that the "Proryv" will become the last one before a new generation of tanks.
Read more materials on the topic:
- Modified T-90S tanks spotted during exercises abroad
- It became known which tank engines India purchased from Russia
- The T-90S tank may receive Israeli Trophy protection
