Within the ongoing battle in Ukraine, the highlight as soon as once more falls on Russia’s navy expertise, particularly its much-touted T-90M “Proryv” tank, hailed by President Vladimir Putin as among the best tanks on the earth. However current studies, backed by pictures shared on Telegram and later circulated on social media platform X, reveal a stark and unsettling reality—this image of Russian navy energy was decreased to a barely recognizable wreck.
These pictures, which surfaced on the finish of September, have solid doubt on the tank’s supposed superiority, with widespread questions now raised about its protecting techniques and general readiness for battle.
The tank’s destruction was so full that it challenges every part we find out about Russian engineering, significantly its armor techniques. Though the precise explanation for the tank’s demise—whether or not a strong anti-tank mine or a guided missile—stays unsure, the extent of the injury and the areas of the hits counsel extreme vulnerabilities within the tank’s protection mechanisms.
Most alarmingly, the photographs reveal a disturbing modification: as an alternative of the anticipated explosive reactive armor [ERA] tiles, easy development bricks have been seen of their place. The irony is evident—this tank, which was purported to be a fortress on the battlefield, had been sabotaged lengthy earlier than it ever reached the frontlines. Its armor, made from mere bricks, condemned it to sure destruction.
There are further unsettling particulars from the photographs. Key parts of the ERA system, resembling these on the turret and the vital entrance higher hull, have been noticeably absent. Whether or not Russia merely ran out of correct ERA tiles or needed to divert them elsewhere, probably to different tanks, stays speculative. Nevertheless, the presence of development bricks as a stand-in for specialised armor suggests this tank was successfully disadvantaged of the required upgrades to struggle and survive on the trendy battlefield.
One significantly telling picture exhibits the cuvette—a vital aspect of the “Relikt” module’s higher aspect sections—empty. To take away or set up these sections, the module itself should first be unscrewed, however the bolt head blocks the method.
The stark picture of an unmodified tank, stripped of important safety, raises the inevitable query: have been there cuts within the modernization finances, and if that’s the case, the place did the funds go? It’s unclear if the crew survived the assault, and whereas we will’t know for positive, one can’t assist however think about the horrors of troopers trapped in a tank stripped of its most important defenses.
However this explicit T-90M will not be alone in its misfortune. If one tank needed to endure such a cost-cutting modification, it raises the troubling risk that different Russian tanks on the battlefield could have confronted related fates. It appears unlikely that just one tank can be despatched into battle with out the required upgrades—particularly given the strategic significance of the T-90M.
Might or not it’s that a number of tank crews are sitting on a “barrel of gunpowder,” ready for the inevitable? The deeper query stays: what number of extra T-90s—as soon as touted because the spine of Russia’s armored forces—are equally uncovered, susceptible to trendy anti-tank weapons?
The T-90 collection, which has lengthy been lauded for its excessive fight capabilities and superior protecting applied sciences, is thought for incorporating ERA [Explosive Reactive Armor] techniques. ERA is designed to guard tanks from cumulative and armor-piercing projectiles by utilizing explosive panels that disrupt the penetration of incoming rounds.
These panels are composed of an explosive layer sandwiched between two steel plates, which detonate upon impression, scattering steel fragments to neutralize the incoming risk. When functioning correctly, this technique offers a strong protection, vastly enhancing the tank’s survivability towards trendy anti-tank weapons.
The T-90’s ERA system consists of variations resembling “Kontakt-5,” which was broadly utilized in earlier fashions of the tank, and “Relikt,” a extra superior and efficient model that gives enhanced safety towards new, refined threats like tandem warheads and trendy kinetic power penetrators.
The primary benefit of ERA lies in its skill to scale back the chance of penetration by cumulative warheads, a vital function for contemporary tanks. This makes the T-90 a formidable opponent on the battlefield, significantly in up to date conflicts the place high-explosive and anti-tank ammunition is frequent.
Nevertheless, as with all system, ERA just isn’t with out its weaknesses. It’s susceptible to a number of hits in the identical spot, which may considerably diminish its effectiveness over time. Furthermore, the explosive response triggered by ERA may cause collateral injury to close by infantry or pleasant automobiles, making it a double-edged sword in sure fight eventualities.
Moreover, newer, extra superior anti-tank munitions, resembling tandem warheads and superior kinetic projectiles, are able to bypassing ERA defenses, proving that it’s not a flawless protect however relatively a part of a layered protection technique.
The T-90 is undoubtedly a strong machine, combining passive armor with lively safety like ERA, which offers multi-layered protection towards a variety of threats. However the ongoing battle has highlighted a vital level: trendy navy expertise should repeatedly evolve to counter ever-more refined weapons. With out fixed upgrades and upkeep, even essentially the most superior techniques can shortly develop into out of date on the battlefield.
The presence of development bricks rather than ERA on this explicit T-90 is much from an remoted incident. Russian navy {hardware} in Ukraine has typically raised eyebrows resulting from the usage of civilian-grade parts rather than military-grade supplies. In some instances, Russian armored automobiles and tanks have been discovered to comprise digital circuits and resistors usually utilized in civilian purposes, which aren’t constructed to face up to the cruel circumstances of warfare. This has resulted in unreliable techniques, susceptible to failure and malfunction below fight stress.
Furthermore, Russia has resorted to utilizing cheaper supplies for vital components of its navy tools. As an illustration, the metals used for armor plating in some Russian tanks and armored automobiles are reportedly much less sturdy and immune to ballistic impacts than the specialised alloys utilized in Western or Ukrainian automobiles. These lower-quality supplies scale back the general effectiveness of the tanks’ armor and compromise their survivability towards trendy anti-tank weapons.
There may be additionally proof that Russian tank engines have been constructed with applied sciences borrowed from agricultural equipment, resembling tractors and mix engines, relatively than specialised military-grade propulsion techniques. This results in frequent mechanical failures and operational breakdowns within the subject, which additional weakens the fight readiness of Russian armored forces.
Lastly, the Russian navy’s choice to switch high-performance composite supplies with cheaper plastics and different cost-cutting substitutes has led to a big drop within the sturdiness and effectivity of key automobile parts. Below excessive battlefield circumstances, these inferior supplies can fail extra shortly, rendering the automobiles much less efficient and fewer dependable.
The plight of the T-90M is a sobering reminder of the fragility of navy energy when corners are minimize and important techniques are uncared for. Because the warfare in Ukraine continues to unfold, it’s clear that Russia’s once-vaunted tank forces could also be dealing with a a lot better problem than anybody initially anticipated. And for the crews entrusted with these compromised machines, the query stays: how lengthy can they survive when their automobiles are little greater than rolling demise traps?
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